A trade offer involving Patrik Laine and Kotkaniemi has just come out
A few days ago, Pierre LeBrun mentioned that Patrik Laine had expressed a desire to leave the Columbus Blue Jackets via a trade.
The goal of this request is to have a fresh start in a new organization.
Since then, the name of the Finnish forward has been linked to many teams, including the Montreal Canadiens. But with his annual salary of $8.7M on the payroll for another two years and his reputation as a player who can sometimes slack off, it would be surprising if Kent Hughes took a chance.
Nevertheless, numerous offers have been floated on social media, including an interesting one involving Josh Anderson and another involving the 26th overall pick along with Filip Mesar.
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A trade involving Patrik Laine and Jesperi Kotkaniemi? Four teams targeted
In a recent article, Adam Gretz from Bleacherreport proposed four teams that could welcome the Finnish forward. Unsurprisingly, the CH is not among them, but we do find a former club member among the players who could change addresses in the event of a trade: Jesperi Kotkaniemi. He would be accompanied in the trade by Evgeny Kuznetsov.
«Carolina has to pay $3.9 million of Evgeny Kuznetsov's contract for this season, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi counts for $4.8 million on the cap for six more seasons.
Kuznetsov is a key piece that could allow Columbus to make serious cap savings over the next two seasons.
Kotkaniemi is a good two-way player, but his offensive game is not fully developed. Does Carolina really want this contract to be valid for another six years? Maybe not. He could also be an interesting addition to a Columbus team that really needs a two-way presence in their lineup. Both teams would get the type of player they could really use.» - Adam Gretz
Since the end of the Canes' season, many people think that Carolina should opt for a buyout of KK's contract before it's too late. Since he is under 25, the buyout would be at one-third of the salary rather than two-thirds.
Seeing a team interested in acquiring Kotkaniemi could be an excellent exit strategy for the new Canes GM, Eric Tulsky. It remains to be seen if the new Blue Jackets GM, Don Waddell, the very one who signed KK's lucrative contract, will want to bring his former player back...
To ask the question is to answer it, isn't it?
Previously on HabsFanatics
| POLL |
23 JUIN | 947 ANSWERS A trade offer involving Patrik Laine and Kotkaniemi has just come out Which one would you pick first for your team? |
| Patrik Laine and his contract | 818 | 86.4 % |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi and his contract | 129 | 13.6 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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