The Carolina Hurricanes should be savoring this one. Two years since the Montreal Canadiens got Sebastian Aho an offer sheet the ‘Canes eventually matched, Carolina is returning the favor to the Habs, this time involving Jesperi Kotkaniemi. According to TSN, the Habs' center has inked a one-year deal with the Hurricanes, one that is worth $6.1 million.
But because Kotkaniemi is a restricted free agent, the Canadiens technically has not completely lost Kotkaniemi. They still have a week to match the Hurricanes' offer, though that's very unlikely.
With Weber out for the season, and Byron out until the new year, the #Habs could place both players on off-season LTIR and build a roster up to as much as $92,757,143 if needed.
However, once Byron returns they would need to drop below $89,357,143 in order to activate him. https://t.co/tIPEqhljbS
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 28, 2021
In other words, Kotkaniemi is as good as gone for the Canadiens, who just came off a captivating run all the way to the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs despite entering the postseason as the team with the fewest points. Now, the Canes not only have Aho, who signed a five-year deal worth $42.27 million with Carolina in 2019, but they will also roll out to the ice starting next season with a shiny new center in Kotkaniemi. This move just shortly after the Hurricanes signed forward Andri Svechnikov to a massive extension.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, tendered a 1x$6.1M offer sheet by CAR, has not seen the same success in the regular season as he has in the playoffs (boosted by a 23% shooting percentage) since he was a rookie. #LetsGoCanes pic.twitter.com/M9Yclyd40I
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) August 28, 2021
Kotkaniemi played 56 games in the 2020-21 NHL season and scored just five goals to go with 15 assists. In the playoffs, he had five goals and three assists in 19 games. At just 24 years old, Kotkaniemi surely has not reached his full potential that, unfortunately for the Habs, he now has a chance of attaining with the Hurricanes.
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