The winners and losers of the Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet saga

Jesperi Kotkaniemi is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Montreal Canadiens have not matched the Carolina Hurricanes’ offer sheet for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, making this the first successful acquisition of a player via offer sheet in the NHL since Dustin Penner in 2007.

It’s exciting times in the NHL when we get to talk offer sheets, considering their rarity in terms of usage, even more-so in terms of their success rates. In return for signing Kotkaniemi to a one-year, $6.1 million deal, the Hurricanes have sent their first and third round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft to the Canadiens as compensation.

It’s a steep price to pay on a one-year deal for a 21-year-old third overall pick from 2018 who has yet to really break out at the NHL level. And yet, if things work out right for the Hurricanes, snagging Kotkaniemi could be quite the steal for just a handful of draft picks.

Now that this offer sheet saga has come to an end, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of this whole affair because… this is quite a complicated one!