Carolina Hurricanes forward likely to become prime cap casualty
To suggest that Carolina Hurricanes Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been a disappointment since entering the National Hockey League after being chosen 3rd overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft would be a massive understatement. The 24-year-old Fin has just not lived up to the expectations at the time he was picked by the Montreal Canadiens.
Now, six years later the Carolina Hurricanes who chose to give him a chance at redeeming himself have a decision to make regarding his future and by all accounts, it doesn't look bright.
This past week the Canes agreed to a two-year deal with RFA forward Martin Necas inking him to a two-year deal worth $13 million. Now, as a short-term buyout window has opened(it opens 72 hours after signing and lasts for 48 hours, the time is ticking on a decision on Kotkaniemi.)
If you're confused about why the Hurricanes would consider using the buyout window considering they have approximately $6.44 million let's try to make it a bit clearer as it's a bit misleading. They still have 22-year-old RFA Seth Jarvis to re-sign as the winger wasn't eligible for arbitration. He's coming off a breakout season which saw his record 33 goals & 34 assists in 81 regular season games. He's likely billed as being a core piece down the road if he isn't already.
If the Hurricanes can, they'd probably like to sign Jarvis to a max-term agreement, which buys them another four years of team control. But with their cap situation the way it is, something needs to be done. This leads to the topic at hand, buying out Kotkaniemi.
The following breakdown shows what it would cost the Hurricanes to buy him out:
2024-25 to 2026-27: $835K per season
2027-28 to 2029-30: $455K per season
2030-31 to 2035-36: $835K per season
Because he's only 24, the buyout is one-third, not the standard two-thirds. The total buyout for Eric Tulsky would be $3.985 million which would give them $10.425 million which gives them ample space.
So Hurricanes have a decision to make. The question is, will they make the right one?
| POLL | ||
Should the Carolina Hurricanes buy out Jesperi Kotkaniemi? | ||
| Yes. They need the cap space | 50 | 71.4 % |
| No. They should give him more of a chance | 20 | 28.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
