Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Whale Team Good episode on if the Carolina Hurricanes would consider buying out forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“The other thing I was thinking Jeff, is, is there any way they buy out (Jesperi) Kotkaniemi? He’s 23 years old. So it’s a 1/3 buyout, and it would save them $20 million.
Now he’s got six years left on his contract, which means it would be 12 years on the cap, but it’s only $835,000 because it’s not bonuses. So there is a financial, like I said it saves them $20 million. So there is a financial reason for them to do it.
NHL Rumors: The Carolina Hurricanes and Their Unrestricted Free Agents
You know if you look at his ice time during the playoffs, his largest minutes per game was 18:14. That was in the two overtime game, the double overtime game against the Islanders. In Game 6 he was at 10:51. The last seven games he’s only got three over 10 minutes and never hit 11.
So at the very least, that’s something they’re going to have to ask themselves. Now maybe they think he’s still a growing player and they can get more out of them. That’s a reason not to do it.
But the one thing is, I think there were some organizations who would say look, we sign this guy to an offer sheet. We have to keep going through with it. I don’t believe Carolina is one of those teams. I think Carolina would make the decision based purely on what’s better for their organization. And we’ll cut our losses if we have to.
And the fact that the buyout is 1/3 and then it’s structured the way it is, there’s real financial incentive to do it.
LA, (Pierre-Luc) Dubois had a lot of bonuses. It wasn’t the same. They came right out and said they weren’t going to do it. I don’t know, I really wonder if Carolina considers this.”
NHL Rumors: The Carolina Hurricanes Top Priorities
| Year | Base Salary | Cap Hit | Buyout Cost | Savings | Cap Hit (CAR) |
| 2024-25 | $4,820,000 | $4,820,000 | $835,000 | $3,985,000 | $835,000 |
| 2025-26 | $4,820,000 | $4,820,000 | $835,000 | $3,985,000 | $835,000 |
| 2026-27 | $4,820,000 | $4,820,000 | $835,000 | $3,985,000 | $835,000 |
| 2027-28 | $5,200,000 | $4,820,000 | $835,000 | $4,365,000 | $455,000 |
| 2028-29 | $5,200,000 | $4,820,000 | $835,000 | $4,365,000 | $455,000 |
| 2029-30 | $5,200,000 | $4,820,000 | $835,000 | $4,365,000 | $455,000 |
| 2030-31 | $0 | $0 | $835,000 | -$835,000 | $835,000 |
| 2031-32 | $0 | $0 | $835,000 | -$835,000 | $835,000 |
| 2032-33 | $0 | $0 | $835,000 | -$835,000 | $835,000 |
| 2033-34 | $0 | $0 | $835,000 | -$835,000 | $835,000 |
| 2034-35 | $0 | $0 | $835,000 | -$835,000 | $835,000 |
| 2035-36 | $0 | $0 | $835,000 | -$835,000 | $835,000 |
| TOTAL | $30,060,000 | $28,920,000 | $10,020,000 | $20,040,000 | $8,880,000 |
* Numbers from CapFriendly
