Hurricanes sign star center Sebastian Aho to extension

But the Hurricanes did the widely expected move and matched the hostile offer for Aho, and have now secured him for what is likely to be the prime years of his playing career at a $9.75M AAV. The deal gives Aho the 17th-highest cap hit in the NHL, tied with Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After scoring 36 goals and 67 points last season it might be a stretch to call Aho a top-20 player league-wide.

But before last year, Aho scored at above or near a point-per-game rate every season since 2018-19, while also seeing consistent minutes on a Hurricanes penalty kill that has long ranked among the league’s best. That’s the Aho that could genuinely be called a top-20 player in the NHL.

While Aho might not be the Art Ross Trophy-contending 100+ point dominant offensive center some Hurricanes fans might wish he’d be, he’s still a true first-line center who, excluding last season’s moderately declined production, has played at an elite level for quite some time now.

His impact on both ends of the ice is immense, and the Hurricanes simply do not have anyone on their roster or in their prospect pool who projects as a difference-making number-one center the way Aho does.

This contract certainly isn’t cheap, of course, but it’s also a totally reasonable price to pay for Aho as long as his decline to 67 points last season doesn’t prove a sign of things to come. A similarly-aged center in Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders net $9.15M on his own massive contract extension, and Barzal has been significantly less productive than Aho over the course of the last few years and doesn’t offer the same defensive value.

Seeing as Carolina purchased eight UFA years of Aho, they were never going to get a true discount on his contract. But with the cap set to rise over the next few seasons, getting Aho at an AAV below $10M is hard to complain about.

With Aho now locked up and projected second-line center Jesperi Kotkaniemi under contract through 2029-30, the Hurricanes may feel they’ve secured their first and second-line centers for the rest of the decade.

If Kotkaniemi can build on his 43-point performance from last season and the momentum he had in the second half, he could become a strong second-line center behind Aho. Alongside this contract extension, that would give the Hurricanes a potentially elite two-way first-line center and a decent second-line center at a total cost of $14.57M against the cap.

As the cap rises, we could very well see a star player or two end up commanding a $14M AAV before the end of the decade, and it’s with that view of the future that this Aho extension feels most valuable. If Aho can manage to perform up to the standard he’s set over the past few seasons, let alone grow past that standard, he’ll provide genuine surplus value on this $9.75M AAV.

Seeing as this deal doesn’t commit the Hurricanes to Aho deep into his thirties, the contract contains relatively minimal downside risk, meaning it should be considered a home run signing for the franchise.