A Timeline of Carolina’s EPIC TROLL to Montreal
Flashback to July 1st, 2019
Montreal Gives Sebastian Aho an Offersheet
Canes Centre Sebastian Aho was tendered a 5 Year/$42.27M offer sheet by Montreal that had an AAV of $8.454M, Following an 83 Point 2018-19 Season. Aho scored 30 Goals & 53 Assists to pair with a 25 +/- and an impressive 48.59 Face-Off Win %.
Habs GM Marc Bergevin Speaks on The Aho Offersheet
“He’s a player who wants to come to Montreal. It was an offer that he did not have to accept, so far him it’s an offer that for the value he sees in himself, the group of young players coming up in our organization, he wants to be apart of that. He’s 21, he’ll turn 22 this summer (July 26th, 2019).” Bergevin later added “He’s a player that we love and the offer, with the compensation, group of young players we have, with the contracts that are coming up, we realized that this was the best place for us to be, with the best chance of getting the player.”
Carolina President/GM Don Waddell Responds to Montreal’s Offersheet
It’s June 25th, 2019 & Canes Exec Don Waddell said Carolina CAN and WOULD match any offersheet made to young star Sebastian Aho. Waddell stated they had met with Aho’s representatives at the 2019 Draft about a new contract but nothing was settled.
Jump ahead to the news of Aho accepting Montreal’s offersheet, Waddell said afterward “It’s certainly a surprise, it’s a surprise it wasn’t more. Literally we got the e-mail today, so all people are not fully aware yet.” Don later added “I know my summer just got better, because I’m not not going to be negotiating a contract all summer. We make a decision and move on. We are in a position that we can and would match ANY offer (to Aho) that was made to us, We've made that real clear.”
July 7th, 2019: Carolina Matches Montreal’s Offer
Sebastian Aho announces via Twitter that he’s staying in Carolina saying “I’m grateful for the offer from the Montreal Canadiens, but it was always my hope to return to the Hurricanes.”
Carolina ended up MATCHING Montreal’s offer to Aho with an agreement for a 5 Year/$42.27M Contract that was front loaded & bonus heavy with an AAV of $8.454M
Aho would later go on to total 66 points in the 2019-20 Season, scoring 38 Goals with 28 Assists to pair with 10 +/- & a 46.01 Face-Off Win %.
August 28th, 2021: Carolina Offersheets Jesperi Kotkaniemi
The Carolina Hurricanes tendered Habs Centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi a 1 Year/$6.1M AAV offersheet. This agreement between the 2 sides was following an underwhelming 2020-21 campaign that saw Jesperi total 20 Points with 5 Goals & 15 Assists along with a -1 +/- and a 47.91 Face-Off Win %. Despite an underwhelming 2020-21 campaign, Both sides feel that the pairing will work out just fine ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Carolina’s Don Waddell Speaks Out
After the shocking news broke, Waddell said “Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a player who has been on our radar since before his draft year. We believe he will flourish in Rod Brind’Amour’s system and culture, and he will be an important piece of what we are building in Carolina for years to come.” Waddell later added “He wants to come to Carolina. He sees the core we’ve built here and he wants to be apart of that. We’re proud, but there’s still a waiting period. When you make an offer like that, we see a vulnerable position. The offer, with the compensation and the core we have, we realized that it was the best chance we had to get the player.
Montreal DOESN’T Match Carolina’s Offersheet
2 Years after Montreal offer-sheeted Canes star Sebastian Aho, Carolina OFFICIALLY signed 2018 3rd Overall Pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi from Montreal to a 1 Year/$6.1M Contract on September 4th.
Montreal GM Marc Bergevin spoke on the matter saying “Would we have loved to kept him (Jesperi)?? Of course, but not at $6.1M.” Bergevin later added “When you draft a kid at 17, 18 years old, there’s always a projection and that;s why the system in place gives you time to assess that. In [Kotkaniemi’s] case, getting that offersheet (from Carolina) put us in a position where we had to make a decision earlier than we would have liked to…that’s why the bridge contract was where we were going to go with this young player at the time.”
Noting Carolina’s Subtle Jabs at Montreal
On the day news broke of Carolina’s offersheet, their infamous Twitter account posted an ‘Uno-Reverse” card that threw shade at Montreal.
Kotkaniemi’s 1 Year/$6.1M Contract came with a $20.00 Signing Bonus, which is in reference to Sebastian Aho’s #20 that he wears with Carolina.
To go along with Kotkaniemi’s $20.00 signing bonus, Carolina’s Twitter team announced a $20.00 Gift Card Giveaway.
Reference Page
ABC11
NHL.com
Sportsnet
NYPost
Carolina Hurricanes (Twitter)