A secondformer Montreal Canadiens player has had his day with the Stanley Cup after theCarolina Hurricanes won Lord Stanley’s mug last June. About 10 days ago,Nicolas Deslauriers got to spend some quality time with the Stanley Cup. OnMonday, Jesperi Kotkaniemi got his turn as he took the most highly soughttrophy in hockey back home, in Finland.
Accordingto the former third-overall pick’s Instagram account, he took the Cup back towhere it all started for him: the arena where he played with Assat Pori in theSM-Liiga. Pori’s also his hometown, so it was a real homecoming for thecenterman.
Advertisement
Canadiens Demidov Enjoying A Deserved Break In California
Canadiens’ Reported Trade Targets Provide Clue As To Prospect Unavailability
Last Season’s Top Rivalry Moment Between Canadiens And Maple Leafs
WhileKotkaniemi didn’t get to play a single game in the playoffs, he still met therequirements to have his name on the Stanley Cup since he played 41 regular-seasongames with the Hurricanes in the regular season. It was probably not the fashionin which he dreamt of winning the championship growing up in Finland, but atthe end of the day, he still has his name on the precious trophy and can checkwinning a Stanley Cup off his bucket list.
Photo credit: Jesperi Kotkaniemi Instagram
The pivotis under contract for another four years with the Canes at a $4.82 M cap hit.He’s halfway through the puzzling eight-year deal he was signed to by DonWaddell back in March 2022, months after being poached from the Habs with asingle-year offer sheet that had a $6.1 million cap hit.
Advertisement
Kotkanieminever got more than 43 points in a season, despite being a very high draft pick.It looks like he will never live up to the lofty expectations the Habs had whenthey picked him third overall in the 2018 draft, or those the Canes had whenthey signed him to both the offer sheet and the eight-year contract extension.
Somebelieved the Hurricanes would be buying him out this offseason, but that didn’tcome to be. However, there were reports that Carolina told teams who wanted totrade for RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin that they would have to take Kotkaniemiin the deal. Unsurprisingly, both Nikishin and Kotkaniemi remain part of theHurricanes right now.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens’ roundtable on The Hockey News.
