Sebastian Aho has signed an offer sheet from the Montreal Canadiens. Don’t sell the farm yet, Caniacs. The Carolina Hurricanes are planning to match it.
The Montreal Canadiens, in a move that will inevitably land them as ‘Public Enemy No. 1’ in Raleigh, have tendered an offer sheet to Sebastian Aho. Aho subsequently signed the offer sheet, as it contained a term closer to what he wanted than what the Carolina Hurricanes initially wanted to sign him to.
The offer sheet is worth $42.25M, spread over 5 years. The Hurricanes would’ve preferred 8 years, but with an $8M AAV, the cap hit on this contract is much less than Waddell and Dundon were anticipating on signing Aho for. The catch to this is that the contract is extremely front-loaded; the majority of the $42.25M is in signing bonuses.
Aho would be paid $11.3M in signing bonuses in year 1, plus a $700k salary; in year 2, his signing bonus would be $9.87M, with a $700k salary. Year 3 sees Aho receiving $6.95M in signing bonus, plus a $750k salary. In years 4 and 5, Aho will receive $5.25M in signing bonus, plus $750k in salary.
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
Waddell, in a short press conference for media availability, mentioned that he might wait a bit to let Marc Bergevin know if he has decided to match the offer, or to let Sebastian Aho head to Montreal in exchange for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks. Waddell said ‘he isn’t sure he wants to help them out right now’, which is good news if you’re a Hurricanes fan.
TUNE IN to GM Don Waddell's Media Availability https://t.co/zQKOhBSvJx
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) July 1, 2019
Aho isn’t going anywhere. Despite this deal being front-loaded and signing bonus heavy, rest assured Waddell will choose to match the offer. This leads me to question Bergevin and his motives behind trying to pry the face of the Hurricanes’ franchise out of Raleigh.
Some would say he honestly believes Aho would leave the Carolina Hurricanes to come to Montreal. The rest of us say that Aho is using this offer as a way to get the term that he wanted. Either way, Waddell and Dundon seem committed to keeping Sebastian Aho on board.
Will we match the offer sheet for Sebastian Aho?
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) July 1, 2019
Only time will tell what actually happens on this front, but I have a feeling we won’t find out until precisely seven days from now, when Waddell releases his hostages and their $8.4M, and allows them to continue discussions with other free agents.
Question for CC Readers: When do you think Waddell will finally announce that he has decided to match the offer sheet?