Thus, everything makes sense from that perspective. I'm not sure what Montreal will do, but I'm thinking the answer isn't simply âmatchâ or âdo not match.â I believe it will result in more movements. I just cannot see them matching that amount on a guy about whom my gut tells me they have reservations (see: healthy scratch in playoffs). The only way they may match is if they are unable to find a replacement for âKKâ, since without him, their centre depth beyond Nick Suzuki would be pretty dreadful (Suzuki, then â Jake Evans and Cedric Paquette? And?). Our own Eric Engels penned an opinion piece on the Montreal side here, in which he explained how the city must consider all choices. One of those alternatives was to utilize the Kotkaniemi offer sheet selections to acquire a guy like Christian Dvorak, who is poised to begin his career with a rebuilding Arizona squad eager for picks. That makes sense to me €” parlaying the choices into another center. That is, if they can find a trading partner to replace KK.
The Canucks captain slipped a shot between Montreal goalkeeper Carey Price's legs to clinch the victory in Vancouver's home opener.
@BoHorvat has scored four shootout goals in his career. THEY ARE ALL WINNERS OF GAMES! "I was unaware of the statistic until you informed me," Horvat told @sportsnetmurph after the game. "It's satisfying to earn that victory; the lads earned it." pic.twitter.com/uWtrxepPdL January 21, 2021 â Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks)
The Canadiens and Kotkaniemi's agency did not reply to requests for comment on the offer sheet immediately.
Kotkaniemi led Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final with five goals and three assists. The 21-year-old Finn was selected third overall in the 2018 NHL Draft and has 62 points in 171 regular-season games.
And, of course, there was extra drama to a scenario between the two teams that looked to border on personal when Montreal made a similar move for Carolina center Sebastian Aho in the summer of 2019.
The Hurricanes matched the Canadiens' significantly front-loaded five-year, $42.295 million offer sheet â a technique used seldom by NHL general managers â but plainly remembered how events transpired.
