The Kotkaniemi conundrum

Well your move Bergy. Have to admit Carolina has pulled off a brilliant chess move in their feud with the habs. 

The history of this feud as most people recall started a few years ago when Bergevin offer sheeted Sebastian Aho. Since the offer sheet stratagem had been shelved by most GMs, it startled the hockey  world and Canes management. In hindsight Bergevin saw the value of Aho and the offer was at fair market value and the Canes were smart to match. 

However, Bergevin also made some comments at the time about the financial solvency of Canes ownership. I knew this would not go down well. Some of the habs fanbase then got on social media to ridicule the canes franchise and went so far as to attack some canes journalists. This was not going to end well and now we have the vengeance of Canes ownership two years later. The timing could not come at a worse time for the Habs who have lost Danault to free agency and are limited as to their salary cap. 

The only reason Canes ownership could seek vengeance is due to Jesperi Kotkaniemi. KK was in a vengeful mood as well. In the last few years he has endured a stint in the ahl, constant benchings and not being dressed at the start and end of the playoffs. He also has endured some severe injuries like the spleen and knee surgery. Added to this was the humiliating long year-end meeting where according to journalists he was highly criticized for his skating and inconsistency. 

Habs made KK their third pick overall in the 2018 draft. The image of the habs fan frowning in the crowd endures to this day. Many scouts had rated KK to be in the 15-18 range. The habs were deficient in center prospects and gambled that the underaged KK would develop into a talented big center. Unfortunately KK has been slow developing into a big power forward and number one center. He is still a project in progress and it is difficult to predict how good or bad he will be.

Right now many would say the habs should have picked Brady Tkachuk who has quickly developed into a power forward. It is not hard to predict that Tkachuk may become a star in the near future. Tkachuk seems to have matured physically and has wreaked havoc on many occasions especially against the habs. One can only imagine a legion of doom line that included Tkachuk on left wing and Josh Anderson on right wing. 

KK has shown flashes of what might become a very good player. However the flashes are infrequent and habs coaching has shown little patience in sticking with KK when he has struggled. The habs have basically made the same errors developing KK as they did with Galchenyuk. They were brought up at an early age with no AHL experience. KK also looks slender physically and he needs to put on weight and muscle. One positive thing is that during the last two playoffs, KK has shown hints of potential scoring important goals and playing an impactful physical game. The game 6 overtime goal versus the leafs will not soon be forgotten.

This is the conundrum the habs now face. They have to decide whether a 21 year old has shown enough potential to keep him at a salary he does not deserve right now but might in a few years. The fanbase as usual is split. Some think he is still young and that he will progress into a Thornton or Kopitar in the next few years. The others think he is a dud that will become a leading candidate for the role of Chucky Part 2. So do we take the two draft picks for a dud or do we keep KK when he becomes the new Anzi Kopitar. Your move Bergy.