Laraque: Kotkaniemi's offer sheet 'huge blessing'; says he'll sign with Canes for less on next deal
Love it or hate it, the Carolina Hurricanes' offer sheet to restricted free agent Jesperi Kotkaniemi is certainly one of the biggest hockey stories of the summer, if not the biggest. It's abundantly clear the move is an act of revenge on the part of the Canes for the offer sheet made by Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin to Sebastian Aho two years ago. The $6.1 million for one year offered to Kotkaniemi is a vast over-payment for the young centre, something Carolina owner Tom Dundon is well aware of, although it appears he doesn't care. This is more about forcing the Canadiens to make a difficult decision regarding their former third overall pick. However, at least one person believes the offer sheet may be a blessing for the Habs.
Former NHL enforcer turned analyst Georges Laraque recently wrote a piece for The Hockey News, where he said the picks Montreal would receive as compensation for Kotkaniemi would offset the cost of losing him.
"To me, I see him being a third-line center in the NHL at best. With Nick Suzuki, Montreal has their No. 1 guy, and Kotkaniemi wasn't ready to fill the role of a number 2 center. The first and third round picks can help the Habs use them to get the right player to fill the void," said Laraque.
Meanwhile, in a Tweet released later on from the radio station he works at, Laraque claimed that if the Canadiens refuse to match Carolina's offer, Kotkaniemi will sign an extension with the Canes for a more reasonable salary before a qualifying offer is needed. Laraque stated the money would be in the $4 million AAV range.
Translation: If the Canadiens did not match the Hurricanes' offer, KK would agree with the Canes on the terms of a contract extension that would ensure that his salary would be $ 4M per season at average term.
As for anyone questioning why Kotkaniemi would accept this offer, knowing full well it was part of a revenge tactic by the Hurricanes, Laraque breaks it down in simple terms.
"Kotkaniemi accepted that offer from the Canes, not because he doesn't love his team and his teammates, simply because hockey is a business and wherever he plays this year, he's the clear winner here."
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brayden Point | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Bryan Rust | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pavel Zacha | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Erik Karlsson | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Elias Lindholm | - | 3 | 3 | |
| David Pastrnak | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Tim Stutzle | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Adam Gaudette | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Brad Marchand | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sam Bennett | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 23 | 18 | 5 | - | 36 | |
Hurricanes | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 33 | |
Wild | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 32 | |
Devils | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 32 | |
Capitals | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 31 | |
Golden Knights | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 31 | |
Maple Leafs | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 28 | |
Panthers | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 27 | |
Kings | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 27 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||