It’s been a week since the orgy of cash giveaways was opened on 1 July with free agency.
Since then little has really happened. The Montreal Canadiens’ offer sheet to Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes did end well for Aho but not the Habs.
On Sunday, the Canes and Aho made it official when they inked a five-year, $42.27 million deal. The AAV on the contract will be $8.454 million through the 2023-24 season.
Aho, 21, is the cornerstone of anything the Canes want to do in the near and mid-term future.
“I am grateful for the offer from the Montreal Canadiens, but it was always my hope to return to the Hurricanes,” Aho said.”As a restricted free agent, I had limited options for moving along the process to get a deal done. It was always important to me to be on the ice for the first day of training camp. This entire situation has been difficult for me and my family, and I am happy it is at an end.
“We have a young and exciting group in Carolina and I can’t wait to be there with my teammates and get to work. I love it in Raleigh and I am thrilled that we can continue what we started last season.”
Sunday was the deadline for a deal as the Hurricanes had seven days to match or they would have collected on the offer sheet from Montreal. That would resulted in Carolina getting a first-round pick, second-round pick and third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
“There was no consideration to any other choice but him playing for the Hurricanes,” Carolina owner Tom Dundon said earlier in the week..
Aho was a major reason the Canes reached the playoffs. He had an NHL career-high 83 points on 30 goals in 82 regular-season games; through 15 playoff games he kicked in 12 points on five goals.
When the Columbus Blue Jackets lost Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene last Monday, they signed Gustav Nyquist away from the San Jose Sharks to begin filling the gaps.
“I think Columbus was always one of the teams I was looking at,” Nyquist said. “I think they’re a team that has some really good young players and some really good veteran players and leadership, so I think that’s a good mix. I think they’re a team that’s heading in a good direction. I think they showed that last year in the playoffs obviously so I’m excited to join.”
That won’t be enough. The Jackets have been calm since the departure of the three unrestricted free agent on 1 July.
Nyquist is a good addition, but the Jackets need to re-sign several RFAs including Zach Werenski. The defenseman, 21, picked up 44 points on the season off 11 goals through 82 games. In the playoffs he added a goal and six points through 10 games.
One other move over the weekend was the signing of Marcus Johansson by the Buffalo Sabres. The deal is a reported two years worth $9 million contract; the AAV is $4.5 million.
Johansson, 28, was acquired by the Boston Bruins in February off a trade with the New Jersey Devils. He scored 13 goals and added 17 assists in 58 regular season games.
He was considered a dud after arriving in Boston after the trade but came to the fore in the post season.
On the Boston run to the Stanley Cup Final, Johansson was a shining star with four goals and 11 points in 22 playoff games.
The smart move by Johansson was to go for the two-year deal and hope that the salary cap goes up at the end of the term and make a case for his closing contract being a longer deal.
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