A good dish of homemade salmon and vegetables prepared by his mother would have been enough for Sebastian Aho to enjoy his 26th birthday. But he got even better: a lucrative contract extension.
The Carolina Hurricanes signed him to an eight-year, $78 million deal on Wednesday. This is the largest contract in the history of the organization.
Aho is tied to the team until the end of the 2031-32 season and will earn an average annual salary of 9.75 million when his new contract kicks in next year.
“My party and an overtime – it could be worse,” Aho laughed in a video call from his native Finland. This is where I want to play. The organization has made huge strides forward over the past five years. We feel that we are progressing every year. »
The Hurricanes see Aho as a centerpiece: his best center, he’s in the most productive part of his career.
He’s one of the reasons they’ve made the playoffs for the past five seasons. He had 468 points in 520 regular season games, all with the Hurricanes, and added 58 points in 63 playoff games.
Aho also mentioned that he wanted to play for Rod Brind’Amour. The latter himself signed a contract extension two years ago.
The core of the Hurricanes remained intact. Captain Jordan Staal, winger Jesper Fast and goalkeepers Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta have agreed to new contracts. Teuvo Teravainen still has a valid contract and former CH Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s pact extends until 2029.
Getting along with Aho is a crucial step for the 2006 Stanley Cup champions.
“You can knit to fill in the holes, but you know you have the important pieces in place,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said. You have to put yourself in position to be in the race every year, and it is believed that you can do this for many years. »
This belief is one of the reasons that made Aho’s decision to stay easier.
“It’s the best team we’ve ever had on paper,” he enthused. As a player, all you can ask of a team, really, is a chance to win. We definitely have a chance to be the best team in the league. »
In addition to retaining important veterans, the Hurricanes have garnered attention in the free agent market. They signed defender Dmitry Orlov to a two-year contract and striker Michael Bunting to a three-year contract. Earlier this week, they repatriated defenseman Tony DeAngelo after trading him to the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2022 draft.
Waddell called his offseason very good, and he may not have finished. The team has been associated with free agent Vladimir Tarasenko. Talks have taken place to secure Norris Trophy holder Erik Karlsson.
“My job as GM is to just stay by the phone every day and keep looking for ways to make the team better,” Waddell said. It’s hard to do right now.
“I can’t say anything will happen between now and the start of the season, but we will definitely continue to talk to different teams and free agents. We’ll see what happens over the next six weeks. »