Jesperi Kotkaniemi Hits Rock Bottom in Carolina: Buyout Likely

The worst part is that the 23-year-old Finn had started the new campaign strongly, even suggesting that he had finally taken off, in his sixth year in the NHL.

He had begun the first 14 games of the schedule with a very promising production of six goals and 13 points.

However, for a reason that is extremely incomprehensible, the former third overall pick of the Canadiens in 2018 hit a huge wall during the following games.

He totals five points in his last 34 games, or, if you prefer, three points in his last 27 games.

This is extremely concerning, given that Kotkaniemi had everything he needed to thrive, with a role on the second line, quality time on the power play, and more than interesting playing time.

Unfortunately, due to his disappointing performance, he gradually lost the confidence of his head coach Rod Brind'Amour, who removed him from his regular spot on the five-man attack, demoting him trio by trio, until he recently hit rock bottom.

He is now used at the center of the team's fourth line, where he has played less than 10 minutes in each of his last three games.

Even the former scout of the Montreal Canadiens, Grant McCagg, who long praised KK's potential, has officially thrown in the towel with him. In his latest posts, he even admits to having overestimated what the attacker could become in the league.

[Link to a tweet by Grant McCagg]

Given his totally unacceptable performances for a player with a contract of $4.82M annually for another six seasons, speculations about a possible buyout are seriously gaining momentum.

Considering that the Hurricanes have to deal with an already well-invested salary cap, with little room for maneuver, the reality of the organization freeing itself from Kotkaniemi's contract is a very possible and even very interesting possibility for the organization.

In fact, due to his age and the structure of his deal, if management decided to buy him out, Carolina would save nearly $4M annually for the next six years, but would impact the cap for $835,000 for the following six years.

In other words, the Hurricanes would pay Kotkaniemi for 12 years, but the savings would be significant compared to the salary he would receive during the remaining six years of his current deal.

Unless there's a drastic and unexpected turnaround in Jesperi's play, his future is likely to go through this possibility as early as this summer.

You can see the impact of his buyout here: