It’s hard to be without money Jesperi Kotkaniemi not to mention First, through the so-called offer sheet, Carolina paid Kotkaniemi no less than 6.1 million bucks for the 2021-2022 season. That is, for a player in his fourth season, whose goal record was eleven and point record 34. And the Finn hadn’t actually even made it to the front row in Montreal.
A little later, an eight-year extension contract worth 38.5 million dollars was slapped in front of the ace breeder.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old Kotkaniemi, who is still looking for his big breakthrough, has been paid almost 50 million bucks in six years in the NHL.
There are Finnish Stanley Cup winners playing in the NHL right now who haven’t earned as much in their entire careers. Of course, Kotkaniemi will only reach the amount after the current contract expires in 2030.
Everything has been started by paying huge sums for the potential.
Both parties are certainly disappointed with the current situation. The Carolina Hurricanes did not rob the Polish forward with a big pile of money from Montreal to see him play in the stands in the third season outside the lineup.
Why is coaching not reliable?
Now the question is: why doesn’t the potential of the third booked center forward in the booking event of summer 2018 come to the fore? And now we are not talking about the current 13-game goalless streak.
Why Kotkaniemi has lost its head coach by Rod Brind’Amour trust – at least momentarily – is a longer-term issue.
– The level of demands in the club is really high and responsibility is an important value when applying for the next level. Of course, there is an attempt to plug certain holes and maybe wake up and support the players through which they feel they can be better, former NHL player Ville Nieminen evaluate.
Kotkaniemi started the season excellently, scoring 8 hits in the first 21 matches. Since then, 55 matches have produced only three goals and ten points, but it’s about more than that. It is probably about the responsibility mentioned by Nieminen. Kotkaniemi is undoubtedly the weakest link in his team when it comes to high-quality 60-meter play – this is shown by eyewitness evidence as well as traditional and advanced statistical data.
It has been difficult for Kotkaniemi to find his place in the team. There has been little responsibility for superior force, practically none at all. This in itself significantly limits the ice age. When new players have been brought in through player trades, the role of the player from Pori has shrunk first to a chain of four and finally to non-existent.
The situation is certainly disappointing for both parties, as the club had envisioned a second center from Kotkaniemi.
– It’s in the middle Sebastian Aho, Yevgeny Kuznetsov, Jordan Staal and Jack Drury, who is a plus player and can play a really rough ball. Kotkaniemi was tried on the side, but it didn’t seem to inspire. Surely the player will be taken in by the fact that he has been compartmentalized there in the background. He certainly senses that the coach is not really into him, ‘s ice hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen sees
Kotkaniemi has sometimes been painted as an exceptional spring player, but there is little support for these views. Kotkaniemi is stubborn by nature and can handle even hard collisions, but the -9 power balance of the last two playoff springs is the team’s weakest rating.
Dangerous goal posts Kotkaniemi lost as many as 59 percent last spring. Only 41 percent of the starts came on their own.
– Certainly Brind’Amour has thought about such things after the season, Lehkonen states. In the case of Kotkaniemi, it’s not so much a question of a sagging score, but an intact, comprehensive game.
Even though young players’ career development arc is rarely uniformly linear, Kotkaniemi, who is already playing in his sixth season in the NHL, should expect better – especially when the salary is almost five million per season.
– The player himself needs to look in the mirror, which areas have not been done and what needs to be improved, so that he can move forward in his career. In general skating skills, he still gives a handicap. In that and also in skating durability, development steps must be taken, Lehkonen’s line.
At the same time, Nieminen reminds us of realism when it comes to expectations. Kotkaniemi has undoubtedly been paid for his potential due to a small reserve shift, but it can also act as a brake on his career. For example Jesse Puljujärvi has started to find himself as a player only when all the expectations related to a small booking shift have been taken off his shoulders.
– Kotkaniemi could very well have been a reservation for the third round, because he is such a versatile player. It is often difficult for such a general player if more or too much is expected. At the top, it should be possible to reserve more such absolute top individuals or result makers who have some clear characteristic that can be built around. There is no such thing in Kotkaniemi now.
– He is more of a support player, Nieminen believes.
This cannot continue
How the situation between Kotkaniemi and Carolina develops is an interesting situation to follow. The role has shrunk and the coaching clearly does not trust a player whose contract runs until the summer of 2030 – that is, a player to whom the club is going to pay around 30 million bucks over the next six years.
In the NHL world, the pattern is finally clear: either Kotkaniemi takes big steps towards the final breakthrough or a change of scenery is ahead. A player with five million can’t shuttle longer between the quad chain and the stands.
– That’s the way it is. It’s not a more wonderful equation than that, Lehkonen admits.
– This pattern is mysterious. The most powerful guy was robbed from Montreal and has now been put out on a circuit around the country to dry. It will be interesting to see how Kotkaniemi has handled this when he gets back to playing. Still, the coaching also gets to look in the mirror and see that they haven’t been able to take the player forward. A long agreement was made and yet for a long time it has been clear that they were not very satisfied there. A special set, concludes Lehkonen.