Hurricanes take brutal hit at Canadiens right after getting Kotkaniemi with offer sheet

The Carolina Hurricanes are indeed jerks. 

On Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens announced that they have elected not to match the Carolina Hurricanes’ offer sheet to Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The young centre will now join the Hurricanes on a one-year, $6.1 million contract, while the Canadiens will receive the Hurricanes first- and third-round picks in 2022 in compensation. 

The offer sheet also came with a much-talked about $20 bonus (Sebastien Aho’s number, remember the forward the Habs went after in 2019 with an offer sheet on their own). 

After it was confirmed that the Habs let Kotkaniemi walk, the Canes took a brutal hit at the Canadian team and tweet about a contest, one that said: 

“Who else wants $20?” as they promote a contest on the day that Montreal decline to match Kotkaniemi’s offer sheet. 

Brutal. 

This is the first time since 2007 that an offer sheet is not matched in the NHL. Last time was when the Anaheim Ducks refused to match Dustin Penner’s 5 years, $21.5 million offer sheet tended by the Edmonton Oilers.

Now things get interesting as the compensation is a significant one: a first- and third-round draft pick. Many wonder if the Canadiens could look to acquire Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres. Chatter got more intense when the Sabres’ captain hired agent Pat Brisson to make things happen. With Brisson coming in, the Canadiens have become a rumoured destination for Eichel. Like mentioned above, the Canadiens could become front-runners for Eichel, using the Hurricanes’ first- and third-round picks in next year’s draft, hence offering up two first-round picks and a prospect would bring Eichel to Montreal. 

The Canadiens could also use those same picks in a Christian Dvorak trade out of Arizona, as Engels and coworker Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this week when we all awaited the Habs’ decision on Kotkaniemi’s offer sheet. 

Now the Canadiens have those picks in hand and we can only imagine that Bergevin will make a blockbuster move and have the Canes and Kotkaniemi to thank for. 

I guess that way, GM Marc Bergevin won’t mind the low blow tweet.