Where does Jesperi Kotkaniemi stand with the Montreal Canadiens?

Jesperi Kotkaniemi began the year with the Montreal Canadiens but ended it in Laval and whether he plays in the NHL anytime soon is up in the air.

Eric Engels got Montreal Canadiens fans talking with his recent mailbag on Sportsnet. The biggest thing to come out of it was the likely possibility of Ilya Kovalchuk returning to the team over the summer. Kovalchuk was another low-risk, high-reward signing by Marc Bergevin that not only paid off performance-wise but got the organization a third-round pick at this year’s draft. That was the biggest, but the information on Jesperi Kotkaniemi caught my eye the most.

Kotkaniemi ran into a lot of bad luck this season. Consistency issues, along with some injuries derailed his progression and the growth of rookie Nick Suzuki kind of put him in the backburner momentarily.

However, it was a smart decision to send him to the Laval Rocket. Victor Mete went through some trying times through his development and saw some time in the AHL before his return to the show. The Habs felt Kotkaniemi needed to play with the Rocket to regain his confidence and get back on track to becoming the player they hoped he would when they selected him third overall in 2018.

I, for one, thought it would be an automatic that Kotkaniemi would be back on the team for the 2020-21 season. But something Engels said in his mailbag has made me think about it a little more.

This came from Engels speaking of the Habs’ options down the middle. He feels the Montreal Canadiens would go with Philip Danault, Nick Suzuki, a signed Max Domi and Jack Evans. Engels also floated the possibility of Nate Thompson returning to Montreal in Free Agency, another player who embraced the city and the team after joining them during the 2018-19 campaign.

Kotkaniemi is the odd-man-out here with Engels saying Evans being up with a rotation option in Thompson would give the 19-year-old, “much more time to develop at the AHL level.”

More from Editorials

• Montreal Canadiens: Senators Rebuild At Crisis Point As Kent Hughes Moves Forward
• Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin Continues Charity Work In Montreal After Leaving Habs
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Lineup Going To Be Must Watch
• Montreal Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Contract Extension Analysis
• Montreal Canadiens: Top 31 Prospects – #31 Quentin Miller

The decision, many thought, was a move to increase his confidence may, in fact, actually be a long-term project. I don’t feel the Montreal Canadiens believe they rushed Kotkaniemi into the NHL, but it does look like their aware of the benefits of dominating in a lower league.

Kotkaniemi was scoring at a point-per-game with the Laval Rocket scoring a goal and 12 assists, including three in his second match against the Utica Comets. These are the kinds of numbers the Montreal Canadiens want to see. Sure, it would be great to see more goals come from Kotkaniemi, but that consistent production is a positive sign.

That may be what the Habs are looking for Kotkaniemi to do here. They may want to leave him in the AHL for the entirety of next season and hopefully see him lead the Rocket to a playoff berth for the first time in its history.

Of course, that’s the story right now. If Kotkaniemi is on fire in training camp showing signs of growth in his two-way play, I find it hard to believe the Habs send him down anyway. The goal is to dress the best roster, and if Kotkaniemi reaches a new level, he needs to be there.

At the same time, the project angle of this narrative does have a certain ‘Detroit Red Wings’ scent to it. The Red Wings were notorious for over-ripening prospects in the minors before allowing them to play in the NHL. Dylan Larkin was the straw that broke the camel’s back, making the team as a 19-year-old. Before that, the likes of Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou and Habs very own Tomas Tatar saw their grinding days with the Grand Rapids Griffins before getting the call.

Is this coming for Jesperi Kotkaniemi? The demand at centre for the Montreal Canadiens isn’t what it used to be, and they can afford to leave Kotkaniemi there unless he forces the organization’s hand.

On one side, it’s nice to see the Habs taking control and ownership over Kotkaniemi’s development. On the other, it’s frustrating not to see #15 on the ice trying to fight for a playoff spot.

The most important thing is that this new trajectory shows how important Kotkaniemi is to the organization. They see something in him, they see the potential, and they’re willing to put in the patience to see it come out on the ice in the NHL.