Hockey

Olympics 2026: Aleksander Barkov’s injury opens the door to Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Félix Forget
Olympics 2026: Aleksander Barkov’s injury opens the door to Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Credit: Getty Images

We recently learned that Aleksander Barkov will miss several months of activity. The Panthers' captain suffered a major knee injury in practice, and is expected to be out for seven to nine months.A return at the very end of the season is therefore still theoretically possible… as is a return to the playoffs, should the Panthers make it there.That said, what is certain is that Barkov won't be at the next Olympics. Finland will therefore be without one of its best players… and will have to find a way to replace him. All this means that there will be a position opening up… and there's one player who could benefit from it: Jesperi Kotkaniemi.After being ignored at the 4 Nations Confrontation, he could represent Finland.

Obviously, KK wouldn't be placed on the first line like Barkov. Instead, we should expect to see guys move up a chair (Anton Lundell, for example, will be under quite a bit of pressure to replace Barkov both in Florida and at the Olympics), but there will be a center position likely to be available,so we have to think that Kotkaniemi has a chance of representing his country, possibly on a fourth line.Finland isn't banking on a ton of NHL-caliber center players, after all. If they want to keep Roope Hintz on the wing, Kotkaniemi is behind Sebastian Aho, Anton Lundell and Mikael Granlund in the pecking order.But obviously, he'd better be ready this season… because if another player stands out, you'd think Finland wouldn't have too much trouble choosing that player over a Kotkaniemi who struggles to score 30 points in a season.

We'll see how it all pans out, but Kotkaniemi could well be playing with Patrik Laine (who, barring a surprise, will be on his national team's top-6) and Finland this winter.It‘s up to him to seize the opportunity now.

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– Waivers

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– Wow.

– Cale Makar, next in line for $17M a year?

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