RUMOR: Trade Talks Around Jesperi Kotkaniemi Heating Up
For months now the Carolina Hurricanes have been trying to secure a trade for Erik Karlsson. They have been in a bidding war with the Pittsburgh Penguins over the last few weeks as the two favorites to land the Norris Trophy winner. The San Jose Sharks seem to be comfortable waiting until their price for Karlsson is met.
Salary Cap Holds Karlsson Negotiations Hostage
One hold-up for both teams has been cap space. The Canes currently have less than a million dollars in cap space. To acquire Karlsson this means they would have to free up more than 10 million dollars to do so. Luckily the Hurricanes do have some assets that both make a high salary but still hold value.
Kotkaniemi On The Move Again?
The main avenue Carolina can take to match up the salaries is to add young forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi has a cap hit of 4.82 million trading him alone along with some salary retention by San Jose gets the salaries close. Kotkaniemi put up 43 points last season and is still only 23. This gives San Jose another player to build their young core with. But what does a Kotkaniemi trade for Karlsson look like? The rumored trade is as follows:
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Brett Pesce
Picks or prospects
Possible salary retention for Karlsson
TO THE CANES:
Erik Karlsson
This trade gives both teams what they have been asking for. The Hurricanes get Karlsson a dynamic offensive defenseman. They also get some of the salary retained by the Sharks so that the cap hit is less of a burden. The Sharks get a good young player in Kotkaniemi, an above-average defenseman in Brett Pesce, as well as an assortment of other assets to contribute to their rebuild.
| POLL | ||
Who wins this trade? | ||
| Carolina Hurricanes | 331 | 49.9 % |
| San Jose Sharks | 332 | 50.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
