Less than 24 hours later, it appears that the Carolina Hurricanes will be matching the Montreal Canadiens’ offer sheet for Sebastian Aho, according to Chip Alexander and since confirmed by The Athletic.
Just talked to Tom Dundon. Says Canes will match the Aho offer. Announcement should come soon. Says Canes “love the player.”
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) July 2, 2019
Update: The team has made it official
This shouldn’t come as much as surprise as it was evident from the start that the Hurricanes clearly liked Aho and the measures put in place by the Canadiens were not enough to dissuade them from matching the offer.
The Canadiens will now be clear of their commitment to Aho and free to use all of their available cap space. Notable free agents include Jake Gardiner and Marcus Johansson. There is also the possibility of more offer sheets being signed by the team as well with Brayden Point, and others still available.
It was always going to be a gamble for the Canadiens and Marc Bergevin and now they need to focus on setting up their roster for the 2019-20 season.
