Carolina Hurricanes sign Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an eight-year contract extension
Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s life, and especially his life as a hockey player, changed in a week’s time last August and early September.
Now, the forward is committed to spending the next eight years with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The 21-year-old Kotakaniemi, who is playing this season on a one-year, $6.1 million contract, and the Canes have agreed on an eight-year extension, the team announced Monday. Kotkaniemi will receive an average salary of $4.82 million per season.
“This has been a deal we’ve been working on for a long time, since after the first of the year,” Canes president and general manager Don Waddell said Monday. “Any time you go into these deals you’re dealing with a 21-year-old player and term to us was the most important thing.
“We think this player has good upside. ... We kept pushing for eight years. Obviously the agent (Markus Lehto) wasn’t sure about eight years for a long time, but we finally got him over the hump to get an AAV we were happy with and get (Kotkaniemi) under a long-term contract.”
It has been a interesting seven months for the Finnish player. Drafted third overall in 2018 by the Montreal Canadiens, Kotkeniemi spent his first three seasons with the Habs and was a part of a team last year that beat long odds to reach the Stanley Cup finals.
Then, everything changed. A restricted free agent after the 2021 season, Kotkaniemi and the Canadiens could not come to terms on a new contract. Enter the Hurricanes, who tendered an offer sheet for him on Aug. 28.
The offer sheet created some social-media mayhem. The Canes’ move was viewed as a form of revenge for the Canadiens giving Canes center Sebastian Aho an offer sheet in 2019 — one that Carolina quickly matched. The offer sheet to Kotkaniemi included a $20 signing bonus, which matched Aho’s jersey number.
The Habs had seven days to match the offer. They officially declined on Sept. 4, instead accepting first- and third-round picks in the 2022 NHL draft as compensation from the Canes. Kotkaniemi had a new team, a new city to play in, a new coach in Rod Brind’Amour.
Kotkaniemi, listed at 6-2 and 201 pounds, has spent much of his first season in Brind’Amour’s system as the fourth-line center, although he has played higher in the lineup at times and been used on the power play. Averaging 12 minutes of ice time per game, he has 11 goals and 12 assists in 59 games.
“His game has gotten better all year,” Brind’Amour recently said. “I tried playing him on a wing but he’s a center man. What I like about his game is that he sees the ice really well and has a great shot. I want him to use it more. He can really rip it.”
While matching his career-high in goals, Kotkaniemi has gone the past 13 games without one as the Canes’ offense overall has sputtered. But his quick smile b and easy going demeanor has made for an easy transition with his new team.
“It took him a little while to get comfortable here and the way we play and our style,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said. “I think it’s very different from what Montreal has been doing over the years. I think he’s understanding the game we play and what’s demanded of him, and it’s shows in his game. I think he’s got great potential and all the tools.”
Veteran forward Derek Stepan, 31, has played on Kotkaniemi’s line often this season and called the Finn an “awesome kid.”
“He’s learning how to play his style and create his identity and what his role and uniqueness is going to be,” Stepan said Sunday. “He’s a fun guy to be around and we’ve played well together and have good chemistry together, which is great, too. He’s still a kid. He’s still learning parts of it, parts of the game.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 3:07 PM.
