Canadians Do Not Match The Offer Sheet

The Canadiens have also acquired Christian Dvorak.

The Montreal Canadians will not match the offer sheet of the one year 6.1 contract of Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi will play for the Carolina Hurricanes in this up coming season. Kotkaniemi, the former 3 overall pick in 2018, is coming off a 20 point season in 56 games. In Montreal’s playoff run last year in 19 games, he put up 5 goals and 8 points.

Kotkaniemi will most likely serve as a third line center behind Sebastian Aho and Vincent Trochek. Montreal received a first and a third round pick for compensation from Carolina.

Due to the loss of Kotkaniemi, the Canadians traded for Christian Dvorak in return for a first and a second round pick. Dvorak put up 31 points last year. Arizona now has a stash of picks as they look to rebuild their franchise. I personally believe Carolina lost in the end as a very high overpayment for a third line center. Kotkaniemi has major upside as he is still very young, but 6.1 million is very expensive especially with the cap not rising. Montreal still gets a very good young two way center that can help them get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This season has seen many surprising moves, but the NHL season is right around the corner.