It's never a badge of honour when an NHL team has to pay a man to play for the enemy.

That's how it's been for the Senators, who've been paying Joonas Korpisalo $1 million a year to play for the Boston Bruins the past two seasons. But after his trade to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, at least he's out of the Atlantic Division now.

Boston dealt the veteran goalie to the Blueshirts for their 2028 fourth-round draft pick and forward Kalle Vaisanen. Korpisalo still has two years and $8 million left on his deal, #2 million of which will be paid by the Senators.

How did this retained salary come to be for the Sens?

In 2023, GM Pierre Dorion signed Korpisalo to a five-year contract worth $20 million. Korpisalo lasted just one season, and new GM Steve Staios shipped him to Boston in the Linus Ullmark trade. As part of the deal, the Senators would retain 25 percent of Korpisalo's salary.

He appeared in 31 games for the Bruins this season, posting a 14-9-6 record, a 3.15 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. His seasonal highlight came in Milan, representing Team Finland and earning a bronze medal at the 2026 Olympics.

Korpisalo has played in 334 career NHL games for the Bruins, Senators, Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets. In his one season with the Sens, he did something Linus Ullmark has never done and that's play in more than 50 games (55).

He's also the holder of the NHL record for most saves (85) in a single playoff game. That performance came during a 3-2, five-overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020.

Korpisalo was originally selected by the Blue Jackets in the third round, 62nd overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

He's not the only player still earning money to not play for the Senators. Former first-rounder Colin White also has two years to go at $875,000 as part of his buyout. He played full-time for San Jose's farm club, where he was teammates with Sens newcomer Kasper Halttunen.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

This article was first published on The Hockey News Ottawa Senators site. For full coverage of the Senators check out one of the latest headlines below:

Free Agency: Senators Officially Sign Samuel Ersson As Their Backup Goalie
The Senators May Have Just Chosen Burakovsky Over Giroux
Senators Walk Away From AHL's Top Goal Scorer
Meet The Future: Senators Draft Offensive Skill With Two First-Round Picks
At A Glance, Senators' Draft Day Trades Are Head Scratchers
Brady Tkachuk Had a Chance to Write His Own Story. He Chose Matthew's