Sebastian Aho has been the Carolina Hurricanes' best player through their opening four games, and it doesn't seem particularly close. He is performing and contributing at a level that is expected of him, given his status as the team's only true superstar forward. The Canes rely on him to be their rock at the top of the lineup, and Aho has been just that.
His Opening Night performance left a lot to be desired, yet he still led the team in shots and had some of their best looks against the Panthers. He scored the team's first goal of the season against the Capitals, striking on the power play in the second period. In their two wins, Aho has posted back-to-back three-point performances, contributing to six of their nine goals.
To be clear, this is not to say that his start hasn't been without its hiccups. Aho has also taken five minor penalties, spending some time in the box during all four contests, though his hooking penalty against Montreal on Tuesday was incredibly weak. Still, there has been far more to the good side of his start than the bad.
Statistically speaking, this isn't a new phenomenon for Aho. Historically, he's been a pretty fast starter on the scoresheet, but the way he has driven play thus far feels a little different. I was curious about his other quick starts to see how this season compares. Four games might be a small sample size for this season, but there's over a decade of production to back him up.
Aho owns two of the three best starts in franchise history
His first two seasons in the NHL didn't lead to very quick starts, but all of that changed for Aho in Year 3. The 2018-19 season saw him set a new standard for the franchise. Aho recorded three multi-point games in the team's first five contests, including the second four-point game of his career against the Wild, in a game during which he scored the overtime winner.
Aho had points in the team's first 12 games, passing Ron Francis' start with the Whalers in 1984 for the longest season-opening point streak in franchise history. He recorded 17 points during that stretch, with his 13 assists putting him tied for second in the league at that point. Aho went on to finish with 83 points, recording his first point-per-game season as the Canes made the playoffs.
Last season, Aho tried to best himself. He recorded a point in nine straight contests to begin the year, including two helpers on Opening Night and a pair of overtime assists. His streak ended in the Canes' first November game against the Islanders, giving him the third-longest point streak to go with his record. This streak was less spectacular, with just two multi-point games and 11 points overall.
One that didn't get talked about as much is arguably more appropriate to the current situation. Sandwiched between these two starts is the 2021-22 season. In the first full year after a few shortened seasons, Aho and Andrei Svechnikov posted dueling streaks, much like they're doing now, though they weren't playing on the same line.
Aho and Svechnikov recorded points in seven straight games. Svechnikov owned a slight 11-10 edge in points, scoring twice and adding an assist on Opening Night. He scored seven goals during his streak, finding the back of the net in six of the seven games. Aho also had a two-goal, three-point night during his streak, giving him three of the franchise's nine longest season-opening streaks.
Even when Aho doesn't get off to a good start, it's only a matter of time
During the Montreal game, Tripp Tracy mentioned that Aho is a slow starter, and while I don't completely agree, given some of the examples I've already mentioned, you can bet that when he does start slowly, he finds a way to turn it quickly turn it around. After all, there's a reason that he has led the Hurricanes in scoring almost every year since his sophomore season.
His second year is a good example of exactly that. After two assists to begin the season, Aho went pointless in his next four games. He kept sputtering through the end of the October, but he had 13 points in ten games to begin November, on his way to leading the 2017-18 team in points. There are examples of this sprinkled throughout his career.
In 2019-20, one year after starting hotter than the sun, Aho had one point in six games. Then, he went a point-per-game through the end of November and set a career high in goals (38) before the pandemic shut down the season. In 2023-24, Aho had three points in four games to start the season. Then, he had 19 points in his next 16 games on his way to an 89-point campaign.
There's no telling what this start means for Aho, other than he's playing very well right now. He's chasing down some of Eric Staal's records, and he's very likely to break several this season. It's still very early, but he's on pace for another career year. There are certain to be bumps in the road along the way, but it's nice to see him driving the offense and making a significant impact already.
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