If there was any skepticism surrounding the reasoning for the Carolina Hurricanes’ offer sheet of former Montreal Canadiens second-overall draft pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi last summer, it was put to rest in an official capacity yesterday afternoon.
The team announced that Kotkaniemi had been signed to a whopping eight-year contract extension that will clock in at a $4.82 million cap hit. Indeed, the Hurricanes are in it for the very long haul with the Finnish center, who will be 22 years old when the extension kicks in this summer.
Understandably, the gaudy terms of the deal, which seemingly doesn’t correlate with the ice time and numbers that the player has posted in his first year with the club, have generated varying levels of criticism.