Since last night, we have been talking about the monster transaction that sent Mikko Rantanen to Caroline. It is rare to see leading players being exchanged in the NHL (especially in the middle of season), so that it really stole the show.
That said, throughout the hubbub, there was a little while during which Jesperi Kotkaniemi seemed to be heading towards Colorado. Frank Seravalli relayed the info … but he was then contradicted by other informants, so that he retracted.
And in the end, KK is still in Caroline: it is rather Jack Drury who accompanied Martin Necas to Denver.
The big question, now, is to know why the name of Kotkaniemi has circulated … and in a text for The AthleticPierre Lebrun gave an element of answer:
The name of Jesperi Kotkaniemi circulated because the cannucks raised it by negotiating with the Hurricanes. – Pierre Lebrun
We know that yesterday, it was revealed that the Hurricanes negotiated with the avalanche for Rantanen, but also with the Canucks for Elias Pettersson and/or JT Miller.
In the end, they chose to go with Rantanen … but they still talked to the Canucks.
We can therefore assume that in a world where the Hurricanes choose the other avenue, Kotkaniemi could very well be a member of the Canucks at present. Lebrun insists that KK n’a Never was in the discussions between the avalanche and the Hurricanes … but he may have been part of a big transaction for Pettersson or Miller.
With Pettersson, which earns $ 11.6 million per year until 2032 and Miller, which touched $ 8 million a year until 2030, Kotkaniemi would probably have been a piece that would have helped the wage level. Recall that the latter affects $ 4.82 million per year until 2030 … and that he can submit a list of 10 teams to which he refuses to be exchanged from July 1.
-Obviously, one can think that the Hurricanes would have liked to depart from such a contract. Kotkaniemi is not bad This season, but at 24 and with its big contract, 23 points in 49 games, it is not sufficient production.
I wonder if the Canucks simply mentioned his name with a view to swinging the money … or if they did it because they were (at least slightly) interested in acquiring it. His contract is heavy, but the cannucks would have released a big contract too …
We will therefore see if all this will eventually be revisited, but it is interesting to see that the Canucks have raised the name of the old of CH. I imagine that the DG of the Hurricanes would not hate to exchange Kotkaniemi before its partial non-exchange clause comes into account on July 1.
Burst
– Ivan Demidov: One of the future best hockey players in the world, says his Romanesque coach Rotenberg.
– I can’t wait to see how he will manage tonight.
– Evgeni Malkin did not finish his own game today. He seems to have been injured in the knee.
– Jeff Gorton had good words for Juraj Slafkovský.
– Really?
