The Carolina Hurricanes don’t need the cap space by moving out some of their players if they want to add this season (which they always do), but it doesn’t hurt to finally move off of one player in particular that has never lived up to the cost he was acquired for or where he was drafted.
According to David Pagnotta, “Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s name has been out there for the last little bit. I think this goes back to last season.”
The Hurricanes have $14 million in cap space and are first in the Eastern Conference, all while staving off plenty of injuries, five of which are impacting them right now, and they aren’t all depth players. But this is a team that consistently goes all in, always acquiring the best they can possibly swing, from Jake Guentzel to Mikko Rantanen to Nikolaj Ehlers.
The Hurricanes have the cap space and assets to do something of that magnitude again, but this time try to target the best center available. With Jordan Staal playing in the 2C role, it is something that needs to be addressed as he’s a solid third line center and has been for a number of years for Carolina.
Kotkaniemi is 25 years old and has two goals and six points in 20 games. He doesn’t even average 11 minutes per night, gets scraps of special teams time, and is either permanently in the bottom-6 in Carolina, or even a healthy scratch. The top of the East is much more there for the taking than the West is with powerhouses like the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, and Vegas Golden Knights.
All the Hurricanes have to do is seemingly get by the Florida Panthers, who aren’t in a playoff spot at this time and are tired after three consecutive Stanley Cup Final runs. It’s not an easy path for the Hurricanes as no team can glide to the final, but with upgrades and moving off of Kotkaniemi, it is very doable.
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