According to TSN and the Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun, Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has stated that the team will match the Montreal Canadiens offer sheet to Sebastian Aho. A formal announcement is expected later on Tuesday. It is not clear if the Hurricanes will file the paperwork to match immediately, or will wait the full seven days to tie-up Marc Bergevin from submitting an additional offer sheet.
Spoke with Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon today who says the Hurricanes will match the offer on Aho. It will be my final piece of the season and I think you will enjoy it. Should be posted within the hour.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 2, 2019
Sebastian Aho Offersheet
Sebastian Aho has put spent his entire three-year career with the Carolina Hurricanes after being drafted in the second round, 35th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He has put up 83 goals and 114 assists for 197 career points in 242 career NHL games.
Last season he scored 30 goals and 53 assists for 83 points. He also added 26 minutes in penalties. Aho added five goals and seven assists for 12 points during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His possession numbers were 57.7 percent Corsi-For and a relative Corsi of +4.2.
What This Means for the Future
Aho is a 30 goal scorer who will continue to be a top-line player. At just 21, he has already shown his ability offensively and has no signs of slowing down his scoring pace moving forward. This season was Aho’s first year playing up the middle as he spent the past two seasons on the wing. Coming into the off-season Aho was one of the biggest names on the market.
There is no question that Aho came into the off-season looking for a big payday after putting up back to back 30-goal seasons with the Canes. He has been one of the best players for the Hurricanes and led them this year all the Eastern Conference Finals before being swept by the Boston Bruins.
For the Canadiens, it is back to the drawing board with a ton of cap space. The team has been rumoured to be interested in defenceman Jake Gardiner as well as exploring an offer sheet on Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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