Jesperi Kotkaniemi and the Carolina Hurricanes put pencil on paper on an impressive offer sheet and brought the NHL out of its late-summer slumber.
The bold move to remove the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NHL draft from Montreal to a one-year contract and $ 6.1 million in restricted free agency, along with the eventual decision by the Canadiens to let the youngster walk center, it became a lot. heads.
Count now-former teammate Tyler Toffoli among those who did a double take.
“I just thought it was all weird,” the 29-year-old Montreal winger said this week during the Canadian leg of the NHL / NHLPA media tour. “The whole situation was strange.”
Montreal’s decision not to match Carolina’s offer resulted in the club receiving the Hurricanes’ first and third-round picks in 2022.
READ MORE: Hurricanes sign Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi to one year and a $ 6.1 million offer sheet
Kotkaniemi, 21, fell short of expectations with the Canadiens: He was demoted to the minors in 2019-20 and scored just five goals and 20 points during the 2020-21 campaign cut short by the NHL pandemic, causing him to The fall of large amounts of money from hurricanes is even more surprising.
Kotkaniemi, who still has many advantages, scored five times and added three assists in 19 playoff games as the Canadiens had an unlikely run to the Stanley Cup final. But it was a healthy scratch to open the first round and again in Games 4 and 5 of the title series before Montreal retired against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It is what it is … you’re not going to turn down $ 6 million,” said Toffoli, who led his team with 28 goals and 44 points after signing a four-year, $ 17 million contract in free agency before the season. last season. .
“It’s unfortunate, but we have to move on.”
Canadiens center Nick Suzuki thought he and Kotkaniemi would be the mainstays in the middle in Montreal for a decade or more.
“How the business works, I guess,” said the 22-year-old, who topped Kotkaniemi in the pecking order in 2020-21 with 41 points before contributing 16 more during the playoffs. “There are so many moving parts in the league that it is difficult to keep everyone together for a long period.
“The offer sheet is part of the business.”
And, of course, there was more intrigue in a situation that seemed to border on the personal between the two organizations after Montreal attempted a similar move for Carolina center Sebastian Aho in the summer of 2019.
The Hurricanes concurred with the Canadiens’ five-year, $ 42.295 million offer sheet, a tool used sparingly by NHL general managers, but clearly did not forget how things unfolded.
Carolina’s initial announcement of the Kotkaniemi move was posted in French on Twitter, and the team attributed the same quote from Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin when he tried to sign Aho to his Hurricane counterpart Don Waddell.
The trolling continued with Kotkaniemi receiving a $ 20 signing bonus to match Aho’s jersey number, while the $ 15 added at the end of the $ 6.1 million deal represented the digits the Finn sported on his back in Montreal.
Toffoli credited hurricanes for at least one thing: causing a sensation.
“It was noticed by people who don’t (follow) hockey,” he said. “He is building the game.
“Everybody’s been talking about hockey for a week.”
The Canadiens, who also lost Phillip Danault to the Los Angeles Kings in unrestricted free agency, moved quickly to replace Kotkaniemi by acquiring 25-year-old center Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes for two draft picks.
“(Bergevin) made a great move adding Dvorak,” Toffoli said. “I always thought it was difficult to play against him when he was with Los Angeles.
“I’m excited to see what it will bring.”
READ MORE: Marketers Assess Damage to Montreal Canadiens Brand After Draft Backlash
Montreal will not have captain Shea Weber this season (the blue line veteran’s career may have ended due to injury), but Suzuki said he understands that goalkeeper Carey Price (knee surgery) will be ready when training camp start next week.
The Canadiens also added help to the rear in free agency with the bruised David Savard, while Mathieu Perreault and Cedric Paquette signed up front. And Jonathan Drouin is expected to return to the fold after leaving the team for personal reasons in late April.
“I definitely lost a couple of pieces, but I think we added some great players,” Suzuki said. “We are in a position to compete.”
They will do it without Kotkaniemi, who will make his first trip to the Bell Center as a member of the Hurricanes on October 21.
“I was happy for him,” Suzuki added. “Difficult offer to refuse, obviously. But it’s hard to watch him go, we wish him the best.
“It will be fun to play against him.”
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca