Carolina Hurricanes dunk on Montreal author who says they “embarrassed” hockey

The Carolina Hurricanes have officially tendered an offer sheet to Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a reported one-year deal worth $6.1 million. The move appears to many as a clear case of revenge on Carolina's part for Montreal's past offer sheet offer to Sebastien Aho; the Hurricanes didn't do anything to dispel those rumors after they promised Kotkaniemi a $20 signing bonus, the same sweater number Aho wears. 

Oh, and they also made a point to announce the news on Twitter in French, a clear reference to the predominant language in Quebec. 

The move caught the attention of Montreal Gazette writer Jack Todd, who accused the Hurricanes of being an embarrassment to hockey (it almost sounds like he thinks that they're a "bunch of jerks!")

He writes: 

"Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Carolina’s decision to tender an offer sheet to Jesperi Kotkaniemi for an absurd amount of money was a petty, childish, bush-league move on the part of an organization that simply refuses to grow up.

Bad enough that the Hurricanes chose to act out of revenge — but to accompany that silliness with a bunch of sophomoric tweets and a petulant $20 signing bonus was an embarrassment to the league and the organization.

All in all, the Canes behaved like a bunch of Grade 5 boys trying to see who can stand farthest from the urinal — and not giving a damn who gets splashed in the process.

.....

Meanwhile, if there’s an adult in the room for either of these two hockey organizations, I’d like to know who it is."

Well, the Hurricanes caught wind of Todd's column, and decided to respond in kind on Twitter:

Point, set, match!

You have to admit - the Hurricanes are a fun team to watch, and this only adds to their reveling in their reputation that was foisted upon them by Don Cherry. 

Montreal will have one week to match the offer (the deadline is September 4), which would put them approximately $2 million over their LTIR exception space. Should the Habs decide not to match, they'll receive a 1st and 3rd round pick as compensation.