FishRook
Jesperi Kotkaniemi is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Montreal Canadiens will not match the Hurricanes’ offer sheet for the 21-year-old forward, the team announced on Saturday, letting Kotkaniemi officially move down south.
The Canadiens will receive Carolina’s first- and third-round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft as compensation for losing Kotkaniemi.
“Carolina has used a tool available to them in the collective bargaining agreement and we accept that decision,” Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said on Saturday.
Carolina offered the 21-year-old Kotkaniemi a one-year, $6.1-million contract, which he signed on Aug 28. The Canadiens waited until the last day in their seven-day mulling period to announce their decision not to match it.
This is the first offer sheet not to be matched, resulting in the player moving teams, since Dustin Penner signed one from the Edmonton…
