NEWSLETTER
You know, it’s all LOL’s and trolling until you have to pay Jesperi Kotkaniemi $6.1M this season and lose important draft picks. While they had a week to make the decision, the Montreal Canadiens waited until the last minutes before the deadline to make their decision on the Kotkaniemi offer sheet from the Carolina Hurricanes.
• And while it took a full week to find out, it ended up being the decision that made the most sense for the Canadiens…
The Canadiens will not match the Hurricanes' offer sheet to Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Montreal will receive Carolina's 1st- and 3rd-round 2022 Draft picks as compensation.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/ErFdL2ucEb
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 4, 2021
• They avoid overpaying for Kotkaniemi in the 2021-22 season and added Carolina’s first and third-round picks. For a Carolina team that you could argue did not improve this offseason, those picks could be interesting to see where they land in the draft order when the season is over.
The Canadiens will not match the Hurricanes offer sheet and Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a Hurricane.
This is the first successful offer sheet since Dustin Penner in 2007
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) September 4, 2021
• Offer sheets are fascinating for the fact that everyone outside of hockey thinks they are galaxy-brain smart and exciting, and everyone inside hockey treats them as personal attacks within the old boys club of the NHL owners. But it’s the actions like the Hurricanes showed, signing an offer sheet in bad faith with revenge on the brain, that lead to NHL owners and GM’s refusing to use the offer sheet system.
🔴🔥⚫️ pic.twitter.com/Cb0YLNYIpu
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) September 4, 2021
• Doubling-down on the LOL’s, the Hurricanes tried to make it look like they didn’t have their trolling plan backfire on them and make it “fun” again.
Who else wants $20?
RT for a chance to win a @CarolinaProShop gift card! pic.twitter.com/4TSlI1JX2K
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) September 4, 2021
• The Hurricanes have had an extremely weird offseason. They let Dougie Hamilton walk, they don’t sign Alex Nedeljkovic and instead trade him for a third-round pick, they bring in Tony DeAngelo, and they end up paying Kotkaniemi the same about this season that they offered to Hamilton in the first place. So yeah, the offer sheet and the Twitter jokes were fun, but the Hurricanes don’t feel like the endearing “Bunch of Jerks” they once were, and feel more like just regular Jerks now.
• The Canadiens, with a ton of draft capital now, wasted no time weaponizing those slew of picks that they had stock-piled.
Now the @CanadiensMTL have way more flexibility. 6M$ for Jesperi Kotkaniemi is overpaid and that’s an understatement. Now the @CanadiensMTL have 2 first round pick, 1 second round pick and 3 third round picks in 22.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) September 4, 2021
• After losing Kotkaniemi, who would have likely been the second-line center this season for Montreal, the Habs traded for Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes to fill that void in the lineup.
The Canadiens have acquired Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for two draft picks.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/JSqpaOz8qk
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 4, 2021
• Dvorak, a Palos, Illinois-native, had played the past five seasons with the Coyotes after being selected by them in the 2014 NHL Draft. After signing his current deal, a six-year extension worth $4.5M AAV, with the Coyotes in the summer of 2018, Dvorak probably thought he had a security in Arizona. But professional sports can be a cruel business sometimes…
By the way, Christian Dvorak just arrived in Arizona two days ago to close on a house. Tough business.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) September 4, 2021
• Rough. But, Dvorak is in a better situation now with the Canadiens than he would have been in with the Coyotes. Especially if the Coyotes couldn’t find a way to stay in Arizona beyond this season.
• A few guys probably having a better day than Dvorak were Patrick Kane, Brandon Hagel, and MacKenzie Entwistle, who all took to the links on Saturday…
Looks like Brandon Hagel, Patrick Kane, and MacKenzie Entwistle had a day at the golf course ⛳️#Blackhawks
(📸 IG: brandonhagel) pic.twitter.com/zhAzZ2N6UJ— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 4, 2021
• I know Hagel and Entwistle just signed new extensions with the Blackhawks this summer, but I’d hope the wagers on the course weren’t skewed in Kane’s favor.
• In a less relaxing setting yesterday, Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk went back to his alma matter to take in the Penn State-Wisconsin game in Madison. Here you can see Kalynuk’s view of “Jump Around” at Camp Randall Stadium.
#Blackhawks defenseman and former Badgers Captain Wyatt Kalynuk was at the Wisconsin-Penn State game this afternoon. That’s all I’ll say about that.
(🎥 IG: kalynuk_7) pic.twitter.com/icHdO4UShg— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 4, 2021
• We’re not going to talk about what happened after this video was taken though.
• Hey, remember when Jan Rutta couldn’t find a regular home in the Blackhawks lineup? Well, here he is enjoying his second day with the Stanley Cup…
When in Prague..you have to eat and drink! Just ask #stanleycup champion @JanRutta! @nhl@TBLightning @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/MNerVZhgbH
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) September 4, 2021
• LOL, remember #FreeRutta? Those were the days.
• That will do it for today. Hope you all have yourselves a great Sunday!
• The Labor Day Weekend will push the Monday Mailbag to Tuesday, but still be sure to send your Blackhawks questions to me on Twitter using the hashtag #BNHawksMailbag or email them to me using Mario.tirabassi at bleachernation dot com and I will get them answered!
