Tribute Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Goodbye and Good Luck part II

[Catanddogguitarrr]

It looks so wrong.

He looks like mr. anonymous.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Danault did a good job but its Price that shut down Matthews Danault is so over valued its crazy.

Price obviously played his part but Danault did a phenomenal job of not letting Mathews get to the areas on the the ice that he likes to shoot from. Mathews is too good and his ability to shoot the puck with velocity from multiple body positions makes it nearly impossible to entirely eliminate him from putting the puck on net. The key is to limit his ability to get good looks from optimal positions and Danault did a masterful job in controlling/limiting these opportunities

I agree that he is likely being paid too much due to limited offensive production but he absolutely is at the very least a top 5 shut down center and there is a strong argument to put him close to number 1. He was a huge part of our playoff success and overall identity and it will be interesting to see how this plays out for us and for Phil in L.A.. I think we should be fine at center as we have 3 very good defensive centers in Suzuki, Dvorak and Evans to share the load that Danault took on. I also believe that Phil has more to give on the offensive side of his game and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in L.A. as it won't take a very large increase in production to completely justify his contract.

 

[TT1]

tribute to someone who ditched the team.. ok

 

[Ozmodiar]

tribute to someone who ditched the team.. ok

lol
3 OA pick, 3 seasons played, from 35 point pace to 29 point pace, couldn’t stay on his feet, no defensive consistency, 6.1M.

 

[Habano]

MB is da man! This is his team!

 

[le_sean]

Danault did a good job but its Price that shut down Matthews Danault is so over valued its crazy.

Not just Price, but Phil had wingers doing great work and the D did a good job of not giving up second chances. This idea that Phil did everything himself against the Matthews line is silly. Montréal did well as a unit.

 

[Habano]

I will be watching Carolina games this year, lets see what you got kid.

Yup, so will I, see how how does.

 

[dinodebino]

The team could've probably tried something else, another approach, but I mean it's the NHL it's not kindergarten...

I thought his 4 fingers gesture to the crowd was funny all this time but now with more information, I realize that it was an immature and pure entitlement on his part.

It was basically a finger to the organization...

It wasn’t to the crowd.

 

[Seras]

lol
3 OA pick, 3 seasons played, from 35 point pace to 29 point pace, couldn’t stay on his feet, no defensive consistency, 6.1M.

You should be happy then since he's gone now

 

[dinodebino]

No. No, it isn't.

He would be well advised to let people that he hired to do their job. Or, if he doesn't trust them, to replace them with someone he trusts.

All GMs do that. Coaches are told to coach the players they are given. Unless you’re Scotty Bowman, the GM is the boss.

 

[bobholly39]

lol
3 OA pick, 3 seasons played, from 35 point pace to 29 point pace, couldn’t stay on his feet, no defensive consistency, 6.1M.

It's a genius offer sheet though.

A lot of players in KK's position wouldn't have even had a single NHL game yet. He's super young. He's always had super high potential, and still does. He could still end up a ppg+ #1 center in this league for many seasons. Not saying this will happen - I'm just saying he's still super young, so the potential is still there.

From a Carolina perspective - the risk is so low. A 1st round pick? Cool - but they expect to be a top team, so it's a low pick. 6.1M$ is a lot - but who cares, it's 1 year. If it works out and he reaches his potential - well they just landed a fantastic player for super cheap. If it doesn't, they can always let him go, and he's still worth the risk above the potential of a 'mystery box low 2022 1st round pick'.

I think Carolina fans should be more upset at their management for letting go of their star rookie goalie over contract dispute, to then throw so much cash at KK - but if you look at just the KK move on its own, it's genius.

Doesn't mean I think we should have matched. Personally - I'm hoping Carolina has a shit season and their unprotected 1st turns into a lottery pick for us.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I will be watching Carolina games this year, lets see what you got kid.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

A telling quote from Rob Ramage in The Athletic:

“We needed centremen, so that was the decision to keep him there,” Ramage said on keeping Kotkaniemi as an 18-year-old in 2018. “As a development guy, I’d like to see us cook ‘em for a while before we get them to the NHL so that when they do get there, they’re ready.”

And there are still deluded fans who think he wasn't rushed.

 

[Hoochi Papa]

The KK and Danault chatter should go in the out of town thread............can't wait for the season to start, so we can talk hockey instead of talking about guys who don't want to play for the habs...

KK chatter is key element of Bergevin's incompetence. His future in Hurricanes defines many things of this organization under Bergevin's control.

KK didn't want to play for Habs or didn't want to play three years for same salary Carolina was willing to pay for one season.

 

[Hins77]

Sure but I find this discussion disingenuous, to be honest.

KK put up 34 points playing with Lehkonen and Armia in his rookie year!

He looked perfectly fine, after his first year no one really doubted that the decision to keep him with the big club was the right choice!

Now, all we hear is how they screwed him... Give me a break.

And Domi 72 points and they didnt made playoff. Don’t know why, but îve never put a big importance on individual stats when the team suck. I mean, Ive never see a real progression about KK. He been rushed. But he played 3 season, so he knows what is the NHL. Even if he would have play in Finland. Pretty sure KK would be at the same place today in terms of progression curve. The only difference, carolina would not have offer sheet him

 

[MD thaivuN]

I feel like going to Carolina will hurt KKs development. He was given sheltered minutes in Montreal and may not get the same in Carolina. Further, I did not think he looked that good on wing. The best thing for KK would be to spend a half season or more in the AHL as a 1C to work on his game and then come up and be a 2C. With his $6M pay day, KK is expected to be a star and he is not their yet.

roster depth-wise, he'll have more competition to earn minutes. However, KK also fits in the canes' pass-heavy offense way more than Mtl's grind-heavy style. It only takes one coach to appreciate your game, and you can go from a bottom 6 forward in one team to a top 6 forward in another.

 

[Habano]

And there are still deluded fans who think he wasn't rushed.

How dare you accuse the sacred "CH" of mishandling a prospect. Didn't you know that this organization can't do any wrong? Look at their exemplary track record over the last quarter+ century. It's always the player's fault

 

[loudi94]

Even though I don't think we will miss Perry at all, losing Perry bugs me more than losing KK because he landed us Dvorak . At $6.1M, he will get every opportunity and while a small part of me hopes he succeeds, as with all opposing players, I hope he fails miserably.

 

[Doc McKenna]

Not just Price, but Phil had wingers doing great work and the D did a good job of not giving up second chances. This idea that Phil did everything himself against the Matthews line is silly. Montréal did well as a unit.

Otherwise we would have lost all the matchups in away games where they had last change. Our D first, play not to lose mentality should be given credit. But it can only bring you so far. This year should be telling because if Dvorak and Evans get even remotely close to D level of Danault than its more system than player.

 

[Doc McKenna]

And there are still deluded fans who think he wasn't rushed.

Or other prospects over the years. Someone is moving parts that the experts(or lowly keyboard warriors) didn't want moved. But hey it seems to be working out right

 

[Habs Halifax]

Not just Price, but Phil had wingers doing great work and the D did a good job of not giving up second chances. This idea that Phil did everything himself against the Matthews line is silly. Montréal did well as a unit.

Not just Price, not just Danault. I agree with that. It was a team commitment to defense and those big boys on D were a big factor too. The area that Danault does well is his back check and how his skating helps him clutter time and space. Evans may not be as elite in that area but I feel he holds his own and he will probably be more willing to take on the 3C role and not complain about it either.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

 

[Sterling Archer]

Just further' s the go f*ck yourself factor when thinking of KK

 

[CHfan1]

Dreger had said something similar to that on his podcast shortly after the Finals on July 9th:

Dredger and Ferraro talking about Kotkaniemi on the Ray and Dregs podcast (starts around the 21 minute mark):

Dreger: You bring up Kotkaniemi and a little inside information here. I feel like there’s going to be tough conversations with Bergevin and those who represent KK in this offseason. I mean he couldn’t be happy, how would you be happy getting pulled from the lineup for game 4 and game 5. Of all the changes that Ducharme made that one was the most puzzling for me because the 5 goals that kid scored were big goals for the Habs. He was -2 in game 3 I get it but lot of upside. He hits, he’s got a little bite in his game. I have a funny feeling Ray that there’s going to be some pressure from the players side out on the Habs. What direction are we going here and if the direction isn’t I’m going to be a full time player and given every opportunity under this coach then maybe we consider something else. Too young to do that?

Ferraro: No. No because he looks around, I mean in my day yeah too young do that but it’s not my day. He looks around and see a bunch of 20 and 21 year olds playing significant roles and he probably feels I can do that. They need to put him in a position to do that. Or they need to explain their position so he is on board with it. Because if the player is looking around and seeing other guys to what he thinks he can do and he doesn’t get that opportunity then it’s never going to work. He’s never going to give you half of what you think. It won’t work that way. So I think KK has got to be in a position to provide offence. I think you’ve got to give him that chance and if he can’t provide it then you got your answer. But you can’t play him on the fringes of your top 9 and expect top 6 production. Like how’s that going to work.

Dreger: I’m going to watch it closely to see where it goes this offseason.

 

[Hannibal]

Never was a fan of his and he looks like a spoiled kid. Happy he got thw f*** out.

Mistake since draft day.