How Canes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi is approaching a return to Montreal
Jesperi Kotkaniemi lingered on the ice Tuesday after practice, taking a few extra shots with Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas, the three young forwards laughing it up.
In what has been a stressful 2021, Kotkaniemi appears to have found some peace with the Carolina Hurricanes. A new season has begun, Kotkaniemi has new teammates and a different setting, and it’s all about winning hockey games.
“He’s a good guy. Everyone likes him,” Canes center Sebastian Aho told reporters Monday. “He smiles a lot, positive guy. He’s a good fit.”
There is one stressful bit of hockey business remaining for Kotkaniemi: his return to Montreal on Thursday.
Kotkaniemi, 21, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2018, taken with the No. 3 overall pick, one spot behind Svechnikov. Jumping into the lineup, he played three years with the Canadiens, which had one of the NHL’s best feel-good stories last season when they reached the Stanley Cup finals against Tampa Bay.
But if it was a great season for the Habs, it was a challenging one for Kotkaniemi.
On the hockey side, he was a “healthy scratch” at times during the playoffs, a disappointment for Kotkaniemi. A restricted free agent after the season, he entered protracted contract negotiations with the Canadiens until the Hurricanes put an end to it — with an offer sheet.
Carolina offered a one-year, $6.1 million contract Aug. 28, and Kotkaniemi signed the offer sheet. That left the decision up to the Habs, which decided not to match it, allowed Kotkaniemi to leave and accepted the Canes’ compensation of first- and third-round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Kotkaniemi, in a media call Tuesday, said there were no hard feelings about how the Canadiens handled the situation or his departure, saying he only has “real good memories” about his time in Montreal. As for returning to the Bell Centre this week, he said he expected it to be a fun experience.
“Really a blast,” he said.
For Kotkaniemi, there was more to worry him and his family earlier this year. His father, Mikael, underwent surgery in Finland for cancer.
Mikael Kotkaniemi is the under-20 coach for the Lukko hockey team in Rauma, Finland. The team announced in March that Kotkaniemi, 52, would be out indefinitely.
“Anything that guys have related to their family stuff is always going to weigh on you,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday.
Kotkaniemi said Tuesday that his father’s condition has improved and he might be able to return to coaching.
“He’s home, he’s progressing, he’s doing really good,” he said in a media session at Wake Competition Center. “That’s good to hear. I’ve been chatting with him every day, just making sure everything’s good over there. Everything’s going well so far and that’s good to hear.”
Kotkaniemi was on Aho’s line for the season opener Thursday against the New York Islanders, playing left wing with Necas on the right side as the Canes won 6-3. He was a part of the Canes’ first postgame Storm Surge celebration, enjoying himself.
Brind’Amour stuck with the same lineup and line combinations for Saturday’s road game against the Nashville Predators. But he made changes during the game, moving Kotkaniemi off the Aho line to Derek Stepan’s line in the third period. Kotkaniemi had four shifts in the third in the Canes’ 3-2 win.
Kotkaniemi is without a point after the first two games, with three shots on goal, and averaging about 12 minutes in ice time.
Brind’Amour had Kotkaniemi on a line with Aho and Teuvo Teravainen in Monday’s practice, although that could change before Thursday. But playing the three Finns together could make things less stressful for Kotkaniemi going into the Bell Centre.
“It’s still a new system,” Aho said. “He used to be a center and now he’s a winger. I know it can take a little time to (learn) the little details. Everyone knows he can play hockey and make some plays. But there are those little details in our system and in the way we want to play.
“It’s going to take a few more games and then he doesn’t have to think out there. Just react and play the way he can.”
Brind’Amour had a memorable first game back in Philadelphia after the Flyers traded him to Carolina in January 2000. He was in his ninth season with the Flyers when he was uprooted and found himself in a new city with a new team, and the first return to Philly was emotional.
“Much different circumstances,” Brind’Amour said. “I remember it was not easy. I was much older, too.
“I can imagine it’s going to be tough (for Kotkaniemi) but that’s part of the business here. You get that one out of the way and as time goes on it kind of dies down.”
Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal.
TV/Radio: Bally Sports South, WCMC 99.9 FM.
