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Montreal Canadiens

Jesperi Kotkaniemi Out For Rest of Season

The Montreal Canadiens have announced that Jesperi Kotkaniemi will miss the reminder of the season due to injuries.

Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports that Jesperi Kotkaniemi is going to miss the remainder of the NHL and AHL season. The young forward will not require surgery thanks to a recent spleen injury, but no recovery timeline has been determined.

This season will certainly be seen as disappointment for the Canadiens and Kotkaniemi who, in 36 games with the Canadiens, scored just eight points. A strong rookie campaign had the Canadiens hopeful they had a consistent forward in their ranks but this season, the forward never saw more than 16 minutes of ice time in a single game. He’s been able to produce at the AHL level, he just hasn’t carried that over to consistent production in the big leagues.

This is not to suggest the Canadiens will look to move on from the 19-year-old, nor is the team looking at Kotkaniemi as a draft bust. With one year remaining on his entry-level contract, there’s still high hopes for him to be a huge part of the Canadiens future. But, if he’s going to earn himself a hefty extension at the end of next season, he’s got next year to start contributing.

And, with the Canadiens rumored to be among the teams most active over the summer and dramatically re-tooling their offense for next season, should the team struggle and Kotkaniemi fail to turn things around, his future could be uncertain.

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