Article: The Wild Should Try Buying Low On Jesperi Kotkaniemi

[Kalisha Turnipseed]

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[Dean]

I think it would be crazy for wild to take a chance on another long contract.  If the wild wanted a center then why didn’t they go for O Reilly or duchene  or any of the multiple other centers in free agency.  They would have given up nothing , had a shorter contract and spent less on salary, I also highly doubt you will ever see ek , stramel and  kump as 3 starting centers for the wild . The wild need to draft some high end talent versus taking on a long contract of an underachieving player. 

[Citizen Strife]

I'd rather not.  I still have PTSD from the last time the Wild traded a player to the Canes.

[Burnt Toast]

I’m in on this one as stated. MJ, FG and a prospect? I’m into taking risks if it helps bring in players with a better fit for our SC window. Unfortunately I’m pretty sure the Canes would be asking for more.

[bisopher]

Great idea in isolation, but where is Rossi on your list of centers? 

Not to mention we'd probably have to include a player like Beckman (maybe Walker or Lambos as well) to get Carolina to take both FG and MJ off our hands.  They're effectively dead weight for us, and you expect a contender like the Canes to want them as-is?

[FredJohnson]

Does this meN Freddie or Nojo are gone? (Both?)

[Patrick]

I absolutely love this idea and have long thought Kotkaniemi is the Finnish version of Ek. Anyone who doesn't like this idea probably wanted Boeser over Ek two years ago and just doesn't value defense. 

Edited February 24 by Patrick

[Imyourhuckleberry]

2 hours ago, Patrick said:

Kotkaniemi is the Finnish version of Ek

Carolina barely has let him play on the PK, less than 20 minutes total in nearly 3 seasons, so I really doubt that he is as talented defensively as JEE.

Eriksson-Ek didn't play a ton of PK at 20 years old, but has played substantial minutes on the penalty killing units since his age 21 season.

On the flip side, JEE barely saw any PP minutes prior to his age 24 season, but Kotakniemi has been seeing minutes there much of his career, now in his age 23 season. They might have some similarities, but seems like one had more defensive instincts and the other was being counted on for more offense.

[Lovehockey]

I am not sure how this help Carolina, why they would do this.

Also don’t see BG doing this. If he does anything it will be another 30+ player 

[mnfaninnc]

On 2/24/2024 at 5:53 PM, Lovehockey said:

I am not sure how this help Carolina, why they would do this.

Also don’t see BG doing this. If he does anything it will be another 30+ player 

And this is exactly the point. For this trade to happen, it has to benefit Carolina too. How would Johansson + Gaudreau do that? They have Fast, Martinook, Teravainen, and Drury has just developed. These 2 players add nothing to their roster. Carolina is in the hunt as a contender. Their main need is goaltending.

So, I visited my son this weekend and asked him about Kotkaniemi. He keeps up with the Canes more than I do. Yes, Kotkaniemi has been demoted to the 4th line, but he is not listed as trade bait at this time. Carolina also has a decently deep prospect pool and is not really in need of a Firstov. For us, the deal looks great, for them, it would look like WTF. 

If I were adding for Carolina, I would need a scorer and a goaltender. Freddie Anderson has been out with blood clots and is now traveling with the team. He's older and there's no guarantee he will be back. Raanta and Kochetkov have not held down the fort all that well. In fact, Kochetkov let in a tough game winner on Saturday because he did not read the angles correctly. 

They've got Aho, Svechnikov, Bunting, Necas, and Jarvis. Put one more scorer on that roster, probably a righty, and they're set. Burns runs the PP and they've also got Slavin, DeAngelo, and Skjei on the backend to add offense. 

Kotkaniemi hasn't been producing like a 2nd line C, and they've got one of the best 3rd line Cs in the game in Jordan Staal. So, the demotion is 2nd to 4th. He's overpaid as a 4th line C, but he'll be quite effective in that slot and adds to their strength down the middle. 

While I love Kalisha's attempt to pry him loose, she's simply not looking at the Carolina side of the deal. In the rumor mill, it has Carolina after Guentzel and possibly Fleury. Kotkaniemi could possible be compensation in a Fleury deal.

[Up North Guy]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

Kotkaniemi could possible be compensation in a Fleury deal.

Looking at the standings today LA, Nashville, Calgary and St Louis are going to be tough to overtake/hold off. All are playing decent hockey right now. The TDL is coming soon so a decision will need to be made and Flower is the one who will make it. I just don't see it happening unless the Wild stumble badly in the next ten days.

[mnfaninnc]

3 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

I just don't see it happening unless the Wild stumble badly in the next ten days.

You're right, but the only way a deal makes sense is for us to trade Fleury there and not a scorer. Unless, anyone would be open to trading Goose2 and getting Kotchetkov back with Kotkaniemi? 

[Pewterschmidt]

On 2/23/2024 at 9:46 PM, FredJohnson said:

Does this meN Freddie or Nojo are gone? (Both?)

Dare to dream broseph.

#ibelieveyoucanfly

#ibelieveyoucantouchthesky