The news that Marc Bergevin and the Montreal Canadiens had submitted an offer sheet to Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho was a shock to many around the NHL.
However, with the dust slightly settling, the news came out that the Finnish forward was not the first name that the Canadiens targeted.
Hearing that the Habs first discussed the offer sheet scenario involving Brayden Point but then shifted gears to Sebastian Aho after thinking they’d have a better chance to get the player. Both Point and Aho are represented by agent Gerry Johansson.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2019
While they settled on Aho, the Canadiens appeared to have set their sights on the Tampa Bay Lightning and their budding star Brayden Point originally. The Lightning are in a slight cap bind, and Montreal putting some heavy pressure on a division rival makes sense in the moment.
Point is exploding at the NHL level, compiling back-to-back 30-goal seasons, and finished as one of the league’s best finishers on a stacked Tampa Bay team. While the offer to Aho would be a coup in and of itself, Point would have been an equally interesting move as he is another young, speedy forward who has his prime still ahead of him.
Bergevin is clearly being aggressive in his off-season moves as he looks to propel the Canadiens to the next level in the upcoming season. Not only that, but targeting players with offer sheets is something that hasn’t been seen in the NHL in awhile, so he’s breaking through something of a taboo among NHL GMs.
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Update: Sebastian Aho has signed an offer sheet from the Montreal Canadiens
