There has been a lot of chatter in recent days about the Calgary Flames targeting Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas this offseason. The 25-year-old is a restricted free agent, and is due for a significant raise from his current $3 million salary, which will make it difficult for the Canes to bring him back.
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That said, there are reports that the Hurricanes are hoping to find a way to keep Necas around, meaning they would need to move out some money. One such player that they are rumoured to be shopping, and could be of interest to the Flames, is forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
Kotkaniemi Still Boasts Plenty of Potential
Though Kotkaniemi’s career has been rather disappointing thus far, it’s important to keep in mind that he is still very young. Despite having already racked up 398 NHL games, he is just 23 years old. It’s been less than six seasons since he was selected third overall in the 2018 Draft.
Kotkaniemi has had a bit of an interesting journey to this point since being drafted. He immediately cracked the Montreal Canadiens roster at just 18 years old, and showed plenty of potential with 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games. His next two seasons, however, were far less productive, but it was still clear that he had star potential.
The Hurricanes thought very highly of Kotkaniemi, and as soon as he became a restricted free agent, they signed him to an eight-year, $38.56 million offer sheet. After some deliberating, the Habs chose not to match it, making Kotkaniemi part of the Hurricanes organization, where he has since spent the past three seasons.
Kotkaniemi took a big step forward with the Canes in the 2021-22 season, posting career highs with 18 goals and 43 points in 82 games, along with another four goals and three helpers in 15 playoff games. It seemed that after a bit of an up-and-down start, his NHL career was truly getting on track.
Questions about the young Finnish forward have re-emerged, however, as he regressed this past season, scoring only 12 goals and 27 points in 79 games. The lack of production has seemingly put him on the trade block, as the Hurricanes, who are in a win-now mode, don’t have time to be patient.
That isn’t the case for the Flames, who have nothing but time in what is still the early stages of a retooling effort. They have put together some good young talent in players such as Connor Zary, Matt Coronato, Dustin Wolf, Jakob Pelletier, and Samuel Honzek, but all need more time before reaching their full potential.
Adding Kotkaniemi to the mix would give them yet another great young talent who still has plenty of room to grow. Perhaps even more importantly, it gives them a young player down the middle, as the Flames are lacking talent down the middle of the ice. While Kotkaniemi’s contract – six more seasons with a cap hit of $4.825 million – may not seem appealing, it won’t be much of an issue given the expected salary cap increase in the NHL.
The Flames would be able to give Kotkaniemi all sorts of opportunities and roles he has yet to receive in his NHL career, which could not only help him reach his true potential offensively, but turn his contract into a bargain deal. At the very least, he has proven that he is already capable of being an NHLer, and the potential for him to become a good second-line player is still there.
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While the Flames appear to still be in on the Necas sweepstakes, if the price proves to be more than they are comfortable with, reaching out about Kotkaniemi as a backup plan seems like a solid idea. What it would take to acquire him is unknown, but it would be in Conroy’s best interest to make a call to inquire.
