2020s- Joonas Korpisalo
The Senators were in desperate need of finding their next number one goaltender after Craig Anderson's departure. In July 2023, the Senators signed Joonas Korpisalo to a massive five-year, $20 million contract.
Korpisalo seemed to have gotten his confidence back after he helped guide the Los Angeles Kings to the playoffs in 2023. The Senators had hoped his play with the Kings would carry over with a fresh start, but the signing immediately fired back on the Senators.
In his only season with the Senators, Korpisalo recorded a 21-26-4 record with a 3.27 goals against average and .890 save percentage. Korpisalo had inconsistency all season long and the Senators were even more desperate to find a new number one goaltender.
The Senators saw enough of Korpisalo after one season and traded him to the Boston Bruins to help acquire 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark. Korpisalo's tenure in Boston started extremely poor after allowing in six goals in the 2024-25 season opener for the Bruins.
When Korpisalo allowed in six goals to start the season, the Senators knew they made the right decision by trading him away to the Bruins. While Korpisalo's contract was quite awful when the Senators signed him, they're glad it's not their problem anymore and it's the Bruins' problem now.
Free agency can be hard for any team in the NHL. The Senators are a team that have had their fair share of poor free agent signings from each decade.