Carolina offered Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a restricted free agent, a contract sheet on Saturday. This was part of the continuing storyline between the Hurricanes' and Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal won the game two years after Carolina's star forward Sebastian Aho was granted a $52 million tender from the Canadiens as a restricted-free agent. This deal was matched by the Hurricanes.
Kotkaniemi is a skilled shooter and was sometimes left out of Montreal's race to the Stanley Cup Finals. He agreed to a $6.1 million one-year contract with Carolina. In their news release, the Hurricanes stated that they gave Kotkaniemi an insignificant $20 signing bonus. This added to the banter on social media across the league.
The Hurricanes actually added "LOL" at the top of their Twitter news release, and then sent another one highlighting the $20 total.
However, the contract price is not a joke. A 21-year old who had just 20 points last year does not usually earn that much in the NHL. The Canadiens will now have seven days to either match the offer, or they will receive a 2022 second-round pick and a third round choice as compensation.
"Jesperi Kotkaniemi agreed to our offer. Don Waddell, Hurricanes general manager, stated that he wants to move to Carolina. He sees the strength of what we have built and wants to be part of it. Although we are proud of our accomplishments, there is still some time to wait. We saw a vulnerability in an offer like this. We realized that the offer was the best way to get the player, given the compensation and core.
The Hurricanes lost in round two to the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Montreal lost to them. This offseason, there is salary cap space because of some departures from last year's roster. Most notably, star defenseman Dougie Hamilton signed with the New Jersey Devils.
The core of the Hurricanes' offense, especially Aho, who scored 57 points, remains. Carolina signed a new deal with Andrei Svechnikov (21), last week. It secured him for $82 million and eight years.
Kotkaniemi was a native of Pori, Finland who was the No. This young offensive combination could work well with Kotkaniemi, a Pori, Finland native who was the No. 3 overall pick in 2018. He had eight goals and five assists in 19 playoff games for the Canadiens.
Montreal has plenty of room to maneuver before training camp because Shea Weber, the NHL's injured captain, is out for the season. The $6.1 million figure would still put them over the cap and force a few moves to keep Kotkaniemi in the Canadiens for at least one more season.
No matter where he ends, the Kotkaniemi storyline will continue at least into the first month. The Hurricanes and Canadiens will be meeting in Montreal on October 21.
