Hurricanes tender offer sheet to Canadiens' Kotkaniemi
The Carolina Hurricanes filed an offer sheet for Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi on Saturday.
It's a one-year, $6,100,015 contract. The Canadiens have seven days to match, and will get a first- and third-round pick if they choose not to do so.
The Hurricanes attempted to land Kotkaniemi in a trade this week but couldn't convince the Canadiens to deal the restricted free agent, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Carolina's social media staff clearly enjoyed the team's move, tweeting "LOL" with the accompanying press release, following that up with a tweet in French, and then making it clear this was payback for Montreal tendering an offer sheet for Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho in 2019.
Les Hurricanes ont annoncé aujourd’hui avoir déposé une offre hostile au joueur autonome avec restriction Jesperi Kotkaniemi des Canadiens de la Montreal. L’entente proposée est d’une durée de un ans et d’une valeur annuelle moyenne de 6,1 millions $.
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) August 28, 2021
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) August 28, 2021
People don’t forget pic.twitter.com/n6ujojWVwk
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) August 28, 2021
The Kotkaniemi offer sheet does indeed come with a $20 signing bonus. Aho wears No. 20.
In addition, Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell's quote in Saturday's press release bears a striking resemblance to what Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said two years ago.
Oh my god pic.twitter.com/tgn66dMARm
— Kevin Papetti (@KPapetti) August 28, 2021
Montreal tendered Aho a five-year offer sheet with an average annual value of $8.454 million on July 1, 2019. One day later, Carolina owner Tom Dundon said he would match it, and the team made it official on July 7 of that year.
Kotkaniemi, who turned 21 last month, recorded five goals and 15 assists while playing all 56 regular-season games for Montreal last season. He added five markers and three helpers across 19 playoff contests.
The Canadiens drafted him third overall in 2018.