Where will Kotkaniemi play for the Carolina Hurricanes?

Jesperi Kotkaniemi is the talk of the hockey world right now. His offer sheet took him out of Montreal and brought him down to Raleigh. In the first successful offer sheet since Dustin Penner, Jesperi has moved down to Raleigh. Now, we all know that Kotkaniemi is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, so where will he slide into the lineup?

Well, we know that General Manager Don Waddell views Kotkaniemi as a winger for the time being. While this is not an ideal situation for someone who has predominantly grown up as a center, but we’ve seen centers start on the wing and move across to the center. In Carolina, it happened just a few seasons ago with a slightly better Finnish center that received an offer sheet.

So, if we assume Kotkaniemi is going to play on the left-wing, that leaves him with three potential landing spots. Playing him on the 4th line will do nothing for his development, and he deserves better than this if he’s going to become a long-term member of the Carolina Hurricanes forward core. So, we’re looking at 1st line left-wing, 2nd line left-wing, and 3rd line left-wing.

If we take the scenario he starts 3rd line left-wing, that likely leaves him with Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast. That is one very responsible line in terms of defense, but it does have a limit going forward. None of these players are explosive offensively, and the offensive output potential of these three is not good enough. Kotkaniemi could fall here late in games to shut the game down, but that’s a different situation.

So, what if he’s 2nd line left-wing? Nino Niederreiter drops down to 3LW. Kotkaniemi takes on the defensive responsibilities of the line while Vincent Trocheck and Martin Necas run riot. This seems like a logical fit. It enables the Canes to deploy a left-wing lock approach defensively, which may not seem major, but it could be effective against a team whose major threat is a right-winger.

What if Kotkaniemi displaces Andrei Svechnikov on the SAT line? Well, the Finnish trio of Kotkaniemi, Sebastian Aho, and Teuvo Teravainen would certainly create issues all over the ice. Another playmaker, sniper, two-way trio, it could enable Aho to have more freedom offensively, which is something that we just haven’t seen before.

The downside of playing KK as a 1st liner is that he’ll have to face tougher competition. The lower down the lineup he is, the more protected he will be. Having him as a 3rd liner would basically ensure that he plays against bottom pairings most of the game, 2nd line would see him mostly against the middle pair. So it is a case of finding the balance of where he’ll succeed without putting too much pressure on him to perform against fantastic opponents.

As a 3rd liner, you’re likely limiting Kotkaniemi’s ice time which will mean less game time and could hamper his development. It’s especially serious now that he’ll be starting out on the left wing in Raleigh. So you do have to find that balance, and it might be that Kotkaniemi and Niederreiter interchange throughout the season. It might not be set in stone for a long time.

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: Where should Kotkaneimi play in Carolina?