A little fee for the actions of one of the top players for the Carolina Hurricanes.
On Sunday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi is being fined $5,000 for elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Joel Hanley. The amount is the maximum allowable under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident happened just past the halfway mark of the first period of Saturday’s game between the Stars and Hurricanes. Kotkaniemi was not penalized on the play.
The Stars ended up winning, 2-1.
This is the first time the former Montreal Canadien has faced any form of supplemental discipline in his NHL career. Kotkaniemi came close during the COVID-shortened 2021 season, when he threw a questionable hit on Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, but nothing came of it.
Kotkaniemi’s game has been known to have some bite in it. While he has made his money by being an important playmaker dating back to his time in Montreal, he is not afraid to throw the body and get a little nasty. Obviously, on Saturday, he took that a little too far.
The 23-year-old’s production has taken a little dip this season. After posting a career high of 43 points during the 2022-23 campaign, Kotkaniemi has 10 goals and 10 assists in 58 games. Not the greatest numbers considering that the Pori, Finland native is in year two of an eight-year contract, with a $4.82 million cap hit.
In 377 career games, Kotkaniemi has scored 62 goals and 92 assists, including registering 21 points in 58 playoff games.
The Hurricanes (34-18-6) are expected to have Kotkaniemi back in the lineup on Tuesday night when they visit the Minnesota Wild. Carolina is still second in the Metropolitan Division, seven points back of the New York Rangers for first place, but are seven ahead of the third-place Philadelphia Flyers.
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