During a recent appearance on the TV show JiC on TVA Sports, Renaud Lavoie mentioned that it was not mad love between Jesperi Kotkaniemi and his coach, Rod Brind'Amour. He even went further in his comments by stating that he was not convinced that the former Habs player will be back with the Hurricanes next year.
However, insider Frank Seravalli made comments completely opposite to those of Lavoie. According to his sources, the Hurricanes have recently met with the Kotkaniemi clan and have had productive discussions over the framework of a long-term contract extension. We could possibly be talking about a monster 8-year contract here.
That's what they're trying, but if it fails, because of the price tag, the reporter wouldn't be surprised to see a six or seven year deal close to 4-4.5M per year for KK in Carolina .
KK, who left the Habs after signing a $ 6.1 million offer sheet this summer now has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in 52 games. He is one goal away from breaking his career high for a season.
Do you think Canes GM Don Waddell would make a mistake by offering young Kotkaniemi such a heavy contract?