Sad news about former Montreal Canadien forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi: the honeymoon period is officially over

After a very solid start to the season, and just as he was finally starting to make a name for himself as a very solid 2nd center in the NHL, everything is falling apart for former Montreal Canadien forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Just when the Hurricanes thought they had made a big move with his acquisition and signing, the big doubts are back.

After collecting 15 points in his first 21 games this season, Kotkaniemi has only 1 small point in his last 17 games. Ouch.

And he's no longer the shadow of the player he was at the start of the season, making multiple errors.

His head coach is increasingly critical of him in the media, and his playing time is decreasing, having also been removed from the power play there.

He even recently had games where he played less than 9 minutes 30 seconds, whereas he played nearly 18 minutes per game at the start of the season.

It's a million-dollar question (or nearly 5 million), but who is the real Jesperi Kotkaniemi? The one from the start of the season or the one who collected 1 point in 17 games?

What's incredible is that Kotkaniemi isn't producing, even though he's playing on the same line as players who are producing a lot!

Michael Bunting has 26 points in 36 games.

Martin Necas has 26 points in 38 games.

Andrei Svechnikov has 23 points in 23 games.

These are his most frequent line partners. As for Kotkaniemi, the 23-year-old forward has 16 points in 38 games. He earns nearly 5 million per season until 2030.

In hindsight, do you think it's a good move by the Canes?