The Montreal Canadiens are saying goodbye to one of their most promising young players in Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The team announced today that they won’t be matching the one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet tendered by the Carolina Hurricanes last weekend.
In return, the Canadiens are receiving Carolina’s first and third-round draft selections in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Carolina’s acquisition of Kotkaniemi marks the first successful offer sheet in the NHL since 2007 when the Edmonton Oilers successfully acquired Dustin Penner from the Anaheim Ducks. The move to acquire the former third-overall pick at $6.1MM seems pricey for what he’s produced so far in his career, and when you look at Carolina’s salary cap situation, it appears even worse. Now finally with a full roster, the team sits at $1.52MM over the salary cap. Considering the team entered the offseason with a large amount of cap space and still lost Dougie Hamilton and Alex Nedeljkovic, questions have been rightfully raised over Carolina’s asset management strategy. But just because Kotkaniemi is making $6.1MM this season, and is consequently owed a $6.1MM qualifying offer at the end of the season, doesn’t mean he’ll cost that much down the line for Carolina. Multiple rumours have emerged that a longer-term extension for Kotkaniemi in Carolina may emerge at a lower average annual value as negotiations remain amicable.
For Montreal, their already stagnant roster now faces a massive hole at center. The team’s acquisition of Cedric Paquette won’t be nearly enough to replace the departures of Phillip Danault and Eric Staal as well as Kotkaniemi, and they need answers at the centre-ice position. Luckily for them, they’ll likely be able to find that answer with the compensation they received for Kotkaniemi. With an overpayment in real money from Carolina comes an overpayment in compensation as well. The draft picks Montreal received are much more valuable than what they would have received had they just traded Kotkaniemi anywhere else. Those picks can either be sent straight-up or packaged for a center, of which there are many on the trade market. While Christian Dvorak would appear to be the frontrunner, Tomas Hertl and Evgeny Kuznetsov remain available for trade and could soften the blow of Montreal’s lost centers.
Regardless, it’s an exciting story at a time where not much news tends to cross the NHL wire. Kotkaniemi’s performance in a new system under a new coach will be a large storyline this season, as the prospect with a high pedigree aims to live up to his third-overall potential.
All salary cap figures per CapFriendly.com.
So the Habs have who as their 2C now? Some random from the crowd? Maybe that Rafael kid is available.
please tell me you mean Raffl, because if so that is a brilliant mistyping
No, Rafael. the kid who snuck onto the ice at the Habs practice like 12 years ago.
Now what will be awesome is if Kotaaniemi and Aho both get hurt
Carolina just falls apart, and sucks
And the Habs get a good lottery pick
And Carolina can’t pay that $20 signing bonus
While I understand what you’re saying, wishing injury on any player is just wrong, regardless of who you’re a fan of. How about just stating that hopefully Carolina stinks this year and the Habs get a top-10 pick.
Oh you maaaad
Eww. That’s kind of nasty actually. Why curse the players themselves? It’s ownership that lies to the fans.
Salty? Maybe winning a cup this century would help….,
“How to Write a Successful Offer Sheet”
By, Don Waddell.
Mandatory remedial reading for poseurs who help the competition by lowballing superstar RFAs.
Kotkaniemi is not a superstar. Waddell may have been successful but he will end up with a player that isn’t a clear cut top six player.
Lowballing superstars? Are we talking about JK here?
2019.
Mssr. Bergevin lowballed Sebastian Aho with a silly offer sheet.
You can look it up.
Aho is a superstar. He was lowballed. It helped Carolina.
Good luck KK, can’t wait to meet you in season. We will see if your worth the 6.1. we will be fine. We will see the options fall to us.
Rumor is they have an extension at about 6yr X 4M worked out already.
None of this is Kotkaniemi’s fault. At what Carolina was offering him – a fat contract AND a qualifying offer of the same amount – he would have been insane not to sign the offer sheet.
Carolina wanted “revenge” for the Aho offer sheet, they way overplayed their hand, and this is going to bite them in the you-know-what, and big time.
The Canadien has a hole to fill at center, but in the end, I think they are the ones that will be sitting pretty when all is said and done.
Wrong. A long term deal will be worked out at a number which works for player and team.
The Canadien just got Christian Dvorak, better than Kotkaniemi and for less money.
I rest my case.
Great decision by habs. No reason to waste this much cap space on this player.
A late 1st (probably 20th or higher)and a 3rd round pick is cheap for a a former 3rd over all centre with size and tenacity. 6.1 million is the payment to buy that player.
Bergie doesn’t seem to mind taking a chance on players with low character so maybe Kuznetzov or Evander Kane can be in the Hans future.
Habs
The Canes really stuck it to Montreal by…giving the third highest cap hit on their team…to the 12th best player…or something.
It’s a one year deal to get a top prospect. They probably have something worked out moving forward
Evander Kane is a great guy to bring in. Montreal doesn’t seem to mind off-ice train wrecks so why not ? Nothing like a degenerate gambler to help locker room chemistry.
Told you things would fall into place !! Dvorak is a better player than KK right now and we have Dvorak at a good AAV. KK HAS some fault in this. He took the money instead of the Glory. Remember KK scratch twice in Cup finals. Welcome aboard Dvorak, bye bye to KK.
Congrats Canes. Just gave up a 1st & a 3rd and got stuck with a guys who scores 7 goals a year.
And that Habs took that player #3 overall over Tkachuk
So, it’s good that Bergervin didn’t fall for the Sunk Cost Fallacy. Don’t compound mistakes.
Habs played this well. They get Dvorak and the Canes gave them the picks to do it. And the Canes get a very highly paid bottom 6 guy. Nice work, Dundon!
Of course, had the Habs drafted Tkachuk in the first place, they could’ve avoided all this to begin with.
KK will be a top 9 LW, as I said all along.
All of this comes down to how KK plays in the future—everything else is irrelevant. We can talk about the Canes getting “revenge,” KK’s (under)development with the Habs, comparative salaries, and Dvorak, but if KK is winds up being a 50-point-plus, top-six player for the Canes, Montreal’s decision won’t be looking so good.
To those who so confidently think that Montreal wound up winning this . . . . we can only wait and see. I wouldn’t be quick to bet against Dundon and Waddell.
Don Waddell’s statement on the acquisition:
“Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a player who has been on our radar since before his draft year,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said. “We believe he will flourish in (coach) Rod Brind’Amour’s system and culture, and he will be an important piece of what we are building in Carolina for years to come.”
Don’t bet against Dundon, because he doesn’t pay up after he loses….ask the AAF guys.