The Montreal Canadiens Could Lose Star Jesperi Kotkaniemi This Weekend Over A Petty Beef

It's been almost a week since the Carolina Hurricanes tendered an offer sheet to Montreal Canadiens centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi and there's a good chance that the Habs could lose their star player over a petty beef that goes back two years.

But how did we get here and why is this happening?

This petty move can be traced back to July 1, 2019, when Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin tendered an offer sheet to Carolina's star centre, Sebastian Aho.

At the time, Bergevin severely underestimated his counterparts in Carolina, Tom Dundon and Don Waddell. They promptly matched Aho's offer sheet — which is now looking like it's a big discount for a player of his talents.

Bergevin also seemingly underestimated his colleague's capacity for revenge. On August 28, 2021, the Hurricanes pulled out a $6,100,015 offer sheet for the Canadiens star player, with a $20 signing bonus.

Why the weird numbers? It just so happens that 15 is Kotkaniemi's jersey number and 20 is Aho's number.

And given the Canadiens' salary cap situation, it seems likely they won't be able to afford the contract.

Adding further insult to injury, as many outlets have reported, Wadell released a statement that was almost word-for-word the statement that Bergevin put out about Aho in 2019.

The Canadiens camp, meanwhile, has stayed mum about Kotkaniemi's offer sheet and it's now looking more likely that the team will lose one of its star players over petty revenge.

The Canadiens have until Saturday, September 4, to match the offer sheet.