Kotkaniemi finishes the playoffs with 1 point in 11 games.

[Banjo Cat]

Was there a good one available?

That Zamboni driver. 1.000 Save percentage. They would never have scored from behind the net on him.

 

[Grifter3511]

Was there a good one available?

Good? I'm not sure. Better? Most likely.

 

[bleedgreen]

Good? I'm not sure. Better? Most likely.

Freddie was pretty damn good this year when he came back. He wasn’t perfect in the playoffs but the Canes had chances to win tonight, and they couldn’t do it. Chatfield let Kreider stick sit on the ice on the winning goal. This isn’t all on Freddie.

At the time of the this current contract I would’ve preferred they switch the goalies, when free agency hit and the contracts were handed out we kept Freddie and I remember very clearly despite not being the biggest fan of his being glad we signed him back. Goalies got overpaid and none of them were better than him. Quick, Korpisalo, Talbot….who no one expected to bounce back.

With what is available the Canes made the right call bringing back Freddie. The question is should’ve Rod gone with Koochie? Rod is loyal, sometimes to a fault. Koochie makes his fair share of mistakes though.

 

[Wateredgarden]

Always had a Galchenyuk aura to him. When he left i was happy we wouldn't have to deal with him underperforming and fans saying he was misused by the coach till he was going to be traded for 2027 equivalent of Josh Anderson.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

3 goals in 40 playoff games with Carolina is insanely bad

 

[Osakahaus]

one of the worst contracts in the NHL

however, no NTC so I fully expect the Canes to try and move him. Problem is, to where?

 

[Matty Sundin]

It was a stupid petty signing from the start

 

[Avs2022]

And he will be a 2nd Lehkonen…okay, a mini version…

Good enough for the 4th line. Maybe 3rd if we have injuries.

 

[Tob]

Rangers may have won the game but Montreal and Toronto wins the day with these bashing threads.

 

[647Hockey]

They tried to troll Montreal, and instead trolled themselves

No doubt. But Carolina would never admit it.

Amazingly afte that $6M deal, they then signed him long term so they saw something in him.

 

[647Hockey]

How this guy parlayed it into 8year/$38M deal after a one year $6M deal is incredible.

 

[Grifter3511]

Freddie was pretty damn good this year when he came back. He wasn’t perfect in the playoffs but the Canes had chances to win tonight, and they couldn’t do it. Chatfield let Kreider stick sit on the ice on the winning goal. This isn’t all on Freddie.

At the time of the this current contract I would’ve preferred they switch the goalies, when free agency hit and the contracts were handed out we kept Freddie and I remember very clearly despite not being the biggest fan of his being glad we signed him back. Goalies got overpaid and none of them were better than him. Quick, Korpisalo, Talbot….who no one expected to bounce back.

With what is available the Canes made the right call bringing back Freddie. The question is should’ve Rod gone with Koochie? Rod is loyal, sometimes to a fault. Koochie makes his fair share of mistakes though.

I was surprised they didn't come back with Kooch for game 4. I know he lost game 3 but I thought he played well and none of the goals he let in were as glaring as some that Andersen let in in games 1 and 2.

 

[tarheelhockey]

OP sat silently for a month, just waiting to make this thread

 

[NyQuil]

Imagine drafting this guy 3rd overall.

 

[bleedgreen]

I was surprised they didn't come back with Kooch for game 4. I know he lost game 3 but I thought he played well and none of the goals he let in were as glaring as some that Andersen let in in games 1 and 2.

Rod is loyal and old school. You have to earn it with him, and I think he felt Freddie got them this far so he couldn’t play someone else. He thinks Koochie’s time will come. Freddie usually responds well after making mistakes in the regular season.

I never felt this years team was the right mix. No clear 2C allows Rod to play Staal too much. Aside from the top line there was no clear cut hierarchy to the lineup, in a bad way. I think having so many ufa’s had an effect. I think this version peaked a few years ago and has been going sideways for a bit. This off season will be a reshuffle. They may step back for a year or two.

 

[Frank Drebin]

But he was mistreated in the playoffs by a dinosaur coach who loves veterans

Imagine drafting this guy 3rd overall.

Some Habs fans still defend Trevor Timmins

 

[Grifter3511]

Rod is loyal and old school. You have to earn it with him, and I think he felt Freddie got them this far so he couldn’t play someone else. He thinks Koochie’s time will come. Freddie usually responds well after making mistakes in the regular season.

I never felt this years team was the right mix. No clear 2C allows Rod to play Staal too much. Aside from the top line there was no clear cut hierarchy to the lineup, in a bad way. I think having so many ufa’s had an effect. I think this version peaked a few years ago and has been going sideways for a bit. This off season will be a reshuffle. They may step back for a year or two.

Without trying to sound too critical: I agree. For a number of years I've felt that the Canes probably have the best depth, or close to, in the nhl but they lack those top end pieces to really put them over the top. Aho is awesome but he needed support. Guentzel and to a lesser extent Kuznetsov were boosts, but even Guentzel feels more like a complimentary piece and not a needle mover on his own. So yeah. A legit #2 center would do wonders for solidifying roster positions and adding some more offensive punch.

 

[Kimota]

Montreal fans were right

As a Habs fans I was sorry to see us lose him. I was seeing a nice growth in the guy and predicted he would be possbly a second line center the year he signed with the Canes. Just that his signing was a huge disrespect and that 6 million per was too nuts to match.

But what happened next I had no idea he would fell this hard. He's a complete black hole. I wonder if that whole thing including going to another team(and frankly going to a much more skilled team) f***ed him up and damaged his growth. The first year of Covid, in those playoffs, he was our best forward, he was like a bat out of Hell, like a power forward, hitting everybody and scoring important goals. I was like wow it's nice to see a prospect coming into his own like that(that was the year I believe where he man-handled Petterson?). But since leaving Montreal, he fell hard.

 

[bleedgreen]

Without trying to sound too critical: I agree. For a number of years I've felt that the Canes probably have the best depth, or close to, in the nhl but they lack those top end pieces to really put them over the top. Aho is awesome but he needed support. Guentzel and to a lesser extent Kuznetsov were boosts, but even Guentzel feels more like a complimentary piece and not a needle mover on his own. So yeah. A legit #2 center would do wonders for solidifying roster positions and adding some more offensive punch.

If Kuzy commits and goes to Rod camp all summer he can be that guy. I just don’t see that being what goes down, not to the level he would have to get to. Hes an amazing player when he’s on.

Jake is a great fit with Aho. They can be shut down if they’re the only line you have to worry about. Necas is likely done which is a shame, he’s just not a style fit. Trocheck through Kuzy failed to click with him. Hopefully they get good value for him.

 

[Bounces R Way]

He's just not very good. He's never been very good.

drafted too high because the Habs wanted a C
rushed into the league because the Habs needed a C
offer sheeted by the Canes because they wanted a C(and of course pettiness)
signed to a ridiculous deal by the Canes because they needed a C


If he was drafted 23rd overall instead of 3rd he'd be back in Finland.

 

[jonlin]

Kotkaniemi should be bought out this summer! Carolina have a cap-crunch coming and they can easily buy Kotkaniemi out and save 20M for the remainder of his contract. Cap-saves will be higher than trading him for another anchor.

 

[Reality Check]

Rangers may have won the game but Montreal and Toronto wins the day with these bashing threads.

Lord knows both fanbases need a reason to keep going after the past 30+ years

 

[jonlin]

If he was drafted 23rd overall instead of 3rd he'd be back in Finland.

He wouldnt. He would play 3-4th line C on some team and have a salary at 1,5-2M/yr. As he should.

 

[Some Other Flame]

She was right all along

 

[KrisLetAngry]

They tried to troll Montreal, and instead trolled themselves

1st and a 3rd for what?