Everything falls apart for Jesperi Kotkaniemi in Carolina, his coach gives him a major warning
This season was supposed to be a redemption year for Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the Hurricanes.
After having an extremely difficult season last year in his first year in Carolina, nothing seems to be going right for the Finn once again this season.
Last year, he was a victim of the roster's depth, being relegated to the roster's fourth line most of the time, after unsuccessful attempts on the team's top six.
The team's head coach, Rod Brind'Amour, had made the decision to use the third overall pick in 2018 to pilot the second trio of the lineup this year, following the departure left by Vincent Trocheck.
Despite having worthy offensive wingers for the first time with Andrei Svechnikov, Martin Necas and now Seth Jarvis, he accumulates a disastrous production of three small points, including one goal in 19 games.
This is extremely bad considering that during that time, Necas has 23 points in 19 games and Svechnikov has 20 points in 19 games. Nothing to give the former Habs man any luster, who also benefits from time on the power play.
His coach really seems to have had enough, as in the last game in Winnipeg, he decided to give him a serious warning.
The former third overall pick in 2018 spent only 10 minutes 57 seconds on the ice, his lowest regular season playing time since April 16, 2022, when the Hurricanes lost 7-4 in Colorado.
By comparison, Montreal was in a panic when they saw Juraj Slafkovsky's limited playing time, which was close to 10 minutes at the beginning of the season.
Let's just say it's chilling when you realize that Kotkaniemi is only in the first year of an eight-year pact, which pays him $4.82 million per season.
Nothing is going right for him anymore and the Hurricanes must bitterly regret having offered him a hostile offer, and even more so for having stubbornly offered him a huge contract extension, even after a very disappointing season on his part when he arrived in Carolina.
Credit: HabsolutelyFan
| POLL | ||
Do you still believe that Jesperi Kotkaniemi can become a true top-6 center in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 49 | 13.8 % |
| No | 307 | 86.2 % |
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