The Habs and the Hurricanes did not have the same salary vision in the Kotkaniemi file...
Who wasn't surprised last night when they heard that the Hurricanes had completed a one-year offer sheet of over six million with 2018 third overall draft pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi? Obviously, everyone knows that this is revenge for the Canes clan that had seen Marc Bergevin sign an offer sheet to Sebastian Aho in 2019. Recall that the offer was then matched by Carolina and Aho remained with the team that drafted him.
Now, six million is a lot of money. It's also a far cry from what the Habs were willing to offer the young Finnish center. According to information reported by Renaud Lavoie, the maximum that KK would have received in Montreal was $2.2 million.
Le salaire maximum (j'insiste sur le mot maximum) que j'ai entendu aujourd'hui que Jesperi Kotkaniemi devrait toucher la saison prochaine est de 2,2M$. Les @Canes lui offre presque trois fois ce montant. C'est complètement hors norme comme montant. Tant mieux pour KK.� Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) August 29, 2021
So we're a long way from that now. The Canes offered almost three times as much money to KK. That is huge!
The good news is that if Marc Bergevin doesn't match Don Waddell's offer to Kotkaniemi, the Habs will receive a first round pick and a third round pick in 2022. Could this help the Tricolore get a new center before the start of next season?
Let's be honest. With Danault and KK out of the picture, Dominique Ducharme's team will have a big hole at center. Who will be able to fill in at second center behind Nick Suzuki? Ryan Poehling? Jake Evans? However, is it really an argument to sign KK at 6.1 million for one year? I don't think so...
