Kotkaniemi loving life in Carolina: Montreal media 'can get in your head'
"Here in Carolina, the life is so much easier."
Jesperi Kotkaniemi may have left Montreal in 2021, but the 22-year-old has not forgotten about his tumultuous time with the Canadiens.
Kotkaniemi spoke to The Hockey News' Jacob Stoller about the pressures of playing in Montreal, and how he would often read what was being written about him while he struggled to find his footing in the NHL.
“The media is really big in Montreal, and it can get in your head really fast if you read all that stuff,” Kotkaniemi said.
He also touched on transitioning away from a high-pressure environment in Montreal to a calmer, less traditional hockey market in North Carolina.
“Here in Carolina, the life is so much easier. You don’t really stress about anything. Great teammates. Great staff. The media is not bad. It’s really a stress-free life here.”
Kotkaniemi was selected by the Canadiens with the third-overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft and jumped right to the league from the Finnish Liiga's Porin Assat, registering 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games as the youngest player in the NHL at the time.
However, the Pori, Finland native struggled over the next two seasons with the Habs, putting up a meagre 28 points in 92 games.
The Hurricanes signed Kotkaniemi to a one-year, $6.1 million offer sheet in August 2021, one offseason removed from the Canadiens' attempt at offer-sheeting Sebastian Aho. Montreal would ultimately decline to match the offer, receiving first- and third-round picks in the 2022 draft as compensation.
In March 2022, Carolina signed the forward to an eight-year, $38.5 million contract ($4.82 million AAV).
The Canes' big bet seems to be paying off, with Kotkaniemi registering career-highs in goals (16) and points (39) so far this season.
“I’ve been able to play him against other team’s top players, and he’s still continued to put up pretty good numbers, too,” said Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour. “He still has a little room to grow, but we’re just scratching the surface with him.
“He could become a combination of a Jordan Staal type player — a guy you play against the other team’s best players — and someone who can score goals and make plays,” Brind'Amour added.
