Montreal Canadiens: Three Non-Habs To Watch Closely This Season

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

The offer sheet saga provided quite a bit of drama around the NHL in the 2021 offseason. The Canadiens had just been in the Stanley Cup Final, and suddenly were without Phillip Danault, Eric Staal and Kotkaniemi down the middle of the ice.

Kotkaniemi was offered a one-year contract from the Carolina Hurricanes with a cap hit over $6 million. The Habs chose to pass on the big cap hit and took first and third round picks as compensation.

It will be debated for years among Habs fans whether or not the organization made the right choice. Should they have taken the compensation or should they have squeezed him into their cap payroll for one year at that big number? Also, had they kept him, would he have signed long term like he did in Carolina or would he just have taken a pricey qualifying offer for one more year?

Kotkaniemi is getting a chance to play big minutes at centre for the Hurricanes this season. He is between Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas. If he suddenly breaks out offensively, the decision to walk away from him will look worse. If he continues to put up mediocre numbers, then letting him walk will look brilliant.

It will take time to see how that choice will play out, but this is a big season for Kotkaniemi. It will be worth watching as Habs fans to wonder about what could have been.