Jesperi Kotkaniemi doesn’t belong in the playoffs

I don’t know if you’re bored with Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but I’m not at all.

Of course, I would have preferred that the Montreal Canadiens hadn’t drafted him third overall, but you can’t change the past.

Even if Christian Dvorak came in as a “replacement” for Kotkaniemi, signed as a restricted free agent by the Carolina Hurricanes, let’s just say that he hasn’t made himself useful to the Habs, especially since he’s often injured.

Last year, we really believed that Kotkaniemi was going to be a good player, as he had some great moments with the Canes.

This season, it’s much harder for the young Finnish forward.

He’s had his moments, but they’ve often been followed by equally bad ones, if not worse.

In 76 games, KK has collected 25 points, but since December, 54 games in, he has collected just 10 points.

These recent setbacks earned him a visit to the press gallery on April 4, for the game against the Boston Bruins.

Kotkaniemi had played in all of his team’s first 75 games of the season, prior to the one against the Bruins.

He returned the following game, against the Washington Capitals, but his performance didn’t please his coach.

He decided to leave him out as a “ healthy scratch ” for the second time in three days.

In fact, he was almost left out against the Montreal Canadiens on March 30.

It really looks like Kotkaniemi is now seen as the team’s 13th forward.