RALEIGH, N.C. — It’s not a surprise the Carolina Hurricanes might be shopping Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Kotkaniemi ranked No. 10 on Chris Johnston’s most recent NHL trade board this week, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently reported that Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky is looking for a fresh start for Kotkaniemi, the 2018 No. 3 draft pick. Friedman previously tied Kotkaniemi to trade talks with the L.A. Kings and Vancouver Canucks.

So, what started as one of the most shocking acquisitions of the last decade looks like it will end in disappointment.

The Hurricanes, one year after fending off the Montreal Canadiens’ offer sheet for Sebastian Aho, pulled off the move with Kotkaniemi in the summer of 2021. With Vincent Trocheck one year away from free agency and the opportunity to add a 6-foot-3, 200-plus-pound player to their lineup, Carolina signed Kotkaniemi to a one-year, $6.1 million offer sheet. Montreal declined to match, instead accepting first- and third-round picks as compensation.

Kotkaniemi spent much of his first season in Raleigh playing on the fourth line before getting his opportunity as the Hurricanes’ second-line center after Trocheck left for the Rangers in free agency in the summer of 2022. That also included a new contract: eight years, $38.56 million.

It was an up-and-down season for Kotkaniemi, who finished with 18 goals and 43 points but had four separate stretches of going at least nine games without a goal.

It still proved to be the high-water mark of his time so far with Carolina.

Kotkaniemi scored a dozen goals in each of the next two seasons, finishing with 27 and 33 points, respectively, in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Logan Stankoven’s move to the middle to start this season was a writing-on-the-wall moment for Kotkaniemi, who has mostly been relegated to fourth-line duty when he’s in the lineup at all; he’s played in 25 games and been in the press box for 19.

So what went wrong and led to a promising player failing to live up to expectations on one of the NHL’s most consistently good teams?

The first finger should point at Kotkaniemi.

While Kotkaniemi’s attitude was never questioned, he did seem to fail to find an identity to his game. There were times when he showed flashes of offensive potential that made him intriguing to the Canadiens in the 2018 draft and the Hurricanes in 2021.

He showed the ability to finish chances, but he was also a reluctant shooter, never finishing a season with more than 129 shots on goal. In his eight-season career, he’s averaged just over 1.5 shots on goal per game.

The organization was also intrigued by his on-ice vision, with some seeing him as perhaps the team’s best east-west passer, a player who could create opportunities for talented wingers.

But none of it ever seemed to fall into place.

By the end of last season, Kotkaniemi was often relegated to fourth-line duty, even moving to the wing as Carolina made room for Mark Jankowski.

“It was pretty s—ty overall,” he said at last May’s end-of-season availability. “Tough year for me.”

With Kotkaniemi in and out of the lineup with two goals and six points in 25 games this season, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour addressed the 25-year-old’s role with the team this week, pointing to his lack of production and his need to find a niche within the team.

“KK’s got to try to find that, I guess — what it is, what role you want to take on,” Brind’Amour said. “There’s been a little inconsistency to his play, for sure. There’s obviously no production. We’re not really looking for that. We need some other things to jump off the page. We’ll see how it goes moving forward.”

Kotkaniemi has consistently expressed his desire to fulfill his promise as a point-producing center, the potential 2C Carolina thought it was getting when it landed him via offer sheet. He also never seemed to embrace the opportunity to be a physical, heavy player, rather than a skilled one when the points didn’t come, and Brind’Amour’s confidence in him waned.

He said as much on locker clean-out day.

“I think postseason is always a little different. You want to bring more out (of) the physical part in the game,” Kotkaniemi said. “I think if you run around 82 games, you’re going to be pretty tired when the playoffs come. So you need to get smarter with that, too. So maybe I’ll try to play a little more hockey in the regular season and maybe just run around a little more in the postseason.”

The statement illustrated the gulf between Brind’Amour’s expectations and Kotkaniemi’s desires. You don’t need to be around Brind’Amour long to know what he cherishes most in a player: consistency. The coach is quick to praise Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook for their ability to play the same style shift after shift, game after game, regular season to postseason.

It seems Kotkaniemi still sees in himself the opportunity to be a top-six forward, a skill player who can be relied on for big minutes and significant production. That ship has sailed in Raleigh, but the Hurricanes should be able to find a team willing to take him on as a reclamation project.

For one, Kotkaniemi’s contract — which has an AAV of $4.82 million for four more years after this one — isn’t the albatross many envision it to be.

The Sharks recently signed Alexander Wennberg to a three-year extension worth $18 million, which illustrates how Kotkaniemi’s deal is quickly becoming reasonable — as long as he can establish himself again as at least a third-line center.

Will Carolina be able to give Jesperi Kotkaniemi a fresh start? (James Guillory / Imagn Images)

Friedman also mentioned the Wennberg deal, along with Philadelphia’s extension with Christian Dvorak (five years, $5.15 million AAV), as proof that Kotkaniemi’s contract could be palatable to teams in need of a center — a market that is bone-dry with several teams looking for help.

The question becomes what shape a trade will take.

Two offseasons ago, the Kings traded center Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Capitals in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper, signed to a five-year contract totaling $26.25 million by Washington after he helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022, had been a disappointment in two seasons in D.C. Dubois had likewise flopped in Los Angeles, putting up 40 points in the first year of an eight-year, $68 million deal.

It was a classic your-problem-for-my-problem trade, and one that worked out for both teams last season. Dubois rebounded with a career-best 66 points, helping the Capitals become one of the surprise teams of 2024-25, while Kuemper was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.

It’s a perfect example of how a trade can work for both sides. That’s not to say it was — and still is — without risk. Kuemper is again having a good year with the Kings, but injuries have limited Dubois to six games, eating up $8.5 million of cap space in Washington.

The more likely scenario may be the Hurricanes recouping as many assets as they can. Carolina is committed to a Stanley Cup run and isn’t looking to subtract talent from its roster. With Noah Philp back in the concussion protocol, Kotkaniemi is one injury away from being back in the lineup regularly.

The contracts for Wennberg and Dvorak give Carolina some leverage in a paper-thin center market, and while an asset-based return won’t be eye-popping, the Hurricanes are unlikely to settle for a small return just to give Kotkaniemi a fresh start.

But make no mistake: The expectation is that Kotkaniemi’s time in Raleigh is coming to a close.