UPDATE: The deal has been signed by Aho.
It has been signed by Aho. https://t.co/QrXMTPKhMz
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) July 1, 2019
To be clear, Sebastian Aho has indeed signed the Offer Sheet submitted by Montreal. Meaning that Aho’s next contract will be as reported, just don’t know which team it will be. https://t.co/LplcD2fpnY
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 1, 2019
With plenty of cap space to work with, the Montreal Canadiens have sent an offer sheet to Sebastian Aho, which the 21-year-old centreman has signed. It is now up to Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell to match the deal and keep Aho, or accept the offer and allow Aho to head to Montreal.
The Canadiens have announced that they have tendered an offer sheet to restricted free agent Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes. The proposed contract is for five years, with an average annual value of $8.454 million.#GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 1, 2019
Should Waddell decline to match the offer, he will receive a handsome package of draft picks for losing the Finnish forward. At the amount of the deal, that will be the Canadiens own first-, second-, and third-roud picks in next year’s draft.
UPDATE: Deals of the offer.
Breakdown of Aho offer sheet: $11.3M SB plus 700k salary in Year 1; $9.87M SB plus 700k salary in Year 2; $6.95 SB plus 750k salary in Year 3; $5.25 SB plus $750k in each of Year 4 and Year 5
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2019
It’s a significant cost, but the odds of finding a player of Aho’s calibre with those picks — especially if they are as late as Marc Bergevin expects for a Stanley Cup contending team — are quite low. The prospect pool would take a hit with the loss of three quality additions, but the NHL roster would get a major boost from one of the top young forwards in the game.
Aho has increased his goal and assist totals in each of his three NHL seasons, surpassing the point-per-game mark in 2018-19 and contributing 12 points in 15 playoff games. He has missed just four games in his career to date.
The deal is not complete. Aho needs to sign it, and the Hurricanes simply need to match the term and salary to keep their player in Carolina, but there is a chance that Aho will be wearing a Canadiens jersey when training camp begins.
