One of the newest Ottawa Senators is excited to get things going with his new teammates, and some old ones.

Joonas Korpisalo, who signed a five-year, $20 million contract with the Senators in July, is looking forward to creating a tandem with former teammate Anton Forsberg.

“We go a long way back,” Korpisalo said, via Mike Zeisberger. “When I first came over to the U.S., we played together in the minors in Cleveland (American Hockey League) for a couple of years. We won together there, and then we spent some time in Columbus. So, we go a long way back, and we became friends immediately when we met each other. I'm super happy we created this tandem again.”

The pair were teammates with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2014-2017, helping the franchise's AHL affiliate win the Calder Cup in 2016.

Korpisalo is expected to be the Senators' starter this season after coming off his best year as a pro. He started a career-high 37 games with the Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings last season, finishing with a .914 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average.

Korpisalo really came into his own after being dealt to the Kings. He won seven of his 11 starts with LA, saving over 92% of shots against and recording a 2.13 goals against average. He started all six playoff games for the Kings but was roughed up by the Edmonton Oilers, allowing 22 goals in the series.

Forsberg started 74 games for the Senators over the last two seasons. He'll likely be the primary backup for Joonas Korpisalo this season.