- Jesperi Kotkaniemi spent his Stanley Cup day at his hometown rink in Pori, Finland
- More than 2,000 fans packed Enersense Areena to get a look at the trophy
- Read below for how the day went, the engraving rule, and the trade talk waiting for him
Jesperi Kotkaniemi took the Stanley Cup home to Pori, and most of the city seemed to turn up for it.
The Carolina Hurricanes forward spent his day with the trophy Monday at Enersense Areena, the rink he grew up in. More than 2,000 people came through the doors for the free two-hour event, and Kotkaniemi became the first Pori native to win a Stanley Cup.
Things opened on the ice with an interview and gifts from the city of Pori and Porin Ässät, his old club. From there the Cup moved out to the hallway, where fans lined up to get their picture with it.
Kotkaniemi posted a handful of shots from the day, including one of him hoisting the Cup at center ice:
That building is where all of it started. Ässät had him skating with their U20 team at 15, Montreal took him third overall in 2018, and Carolina pried him away three years later with an offer sheet the Canadiens declined to match.
Getting his name on the Cup turned into its own argument this summer. He played 42 regular-season games and then missed the entire playoff run with injuries, clearing the engraving threshold of 41 regular-season games or one appearance in the Final.
Plenty of people online decided that was not enough. Kotkaniemi shut the comments off on his June post with the Cup, which now sits at more than 33,000 likes and zero replies:
Trade talk has not gone anywhere either. Carolina spent the offseason shopping the 26-year-old and his $4.82 million cap hit instead of buying him out, and his name keeps turning up as the add-on in Alexander Nikishin talks.
Pori waited its entire hockey history for a Stanley Cup. Monday it got two hours with one and a photo line out the door.
