Report: Hurricanes fielding trade offers for Jesperi Kotkaniemi
An already-active winter for NHL roster movement could get even more busy in short order.
According to a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes are actively weighing trade offers for center Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
“According to several sources, Carolina is considering offers as you read this,” Friedman wrote. “The Hurricanes are contending for a Stanley Cup, so they want either something that can help them now or something they can use to help them now. Either path is necessary to get something done.”
Friedman added that Kotkaniemi has been involved in previous trade discussions already this season, including as part of the return to Los Angeles in a potential Phillip Danault deal and as part of the package Carolina offered Vancouver for Quinn Hughes.
Kotkaniemi, who has been a healthy scratch off-and-on throughout the season, has appeared in 25 games for Carolina in which he’s scored two goals and dished out four assists for six points.
The 25-year-old is coming off of a campaign in which he racked up 12 points and 21 assists for 33 points in 78 games. His production has steadily declined for the Canes since his career-best effort in 2022-23 that saw him reach 43 points on 18 goals and 25 assists.
The Hurricanes acquired Kotkaniemi in the summer of 2021 via an offer sheet that the Montreal Canadiens opted not to match. The one-year offer sheet, largely seen as a move to get payback after Montreal signed Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet that Carolina promptly matched, gave way to an eight-year contract extension that carries a salary cap hit of $4.82 million.
While that price point is lofty for the type of production that Kotkaniemi has provided this season, it’s closer to fair market value for what he brought in recent years, especially as the salary cap continues to rise, and it’s why acquiring teams could have interest in trying to give the No. 3 overall pick from the 2018 NHL Draft a fresh start.
Looking to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the eighth season in a row this year, Carolina sits first place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-14-3 record. After a brief rough patch, they’ve rattled off three-straight wins, all by multiple goals. The Canes are set to close out their schedule for the week when they host Seattle on Saturday night.