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Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho shares how $63M star's departure "stung" the most this offseason
Sebastian Aho shared his thoughts on Jake Guentzel's departure from the Carolina Hurricanes. Aho revealed that he called Guentzel, hoping to convince him to stay.
"That one obviously stung," Aho said as quoted by Elliotte Friedman in his 32 Thoughts column. "But you’ve got to be happy for him to get that kind of deal. I still think we have a lot of good things going on with our team."
In the offseason, Jake Guentzel was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning by the Hurricanes for a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He signed a seven-year, $63 million contract with the Lightning. The deal averages $9 million per year.
Last season, Guentzel had 77 points, including 25 points in 17 games with the Hurricanes after being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sebastian Aho and Guentzel were close, often playing poker on team flights. With Guentzel and Brett Pesce gone, Aho mentioned finding new players for their poker games. Aho is also close with Seth Jarvis, who he describes as outgoing and fun to be around.
Despite losing Guentzel, Aho remains optimistic about the Hurricanes. He believes the team still has a lot of positive things going on. There are also rumors that the Hurricanes are close to extending Jarvis' contract, though it might take some time.
Jake Guentzel signed with Lightning despite Sebastian Aho's request
After signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency, Jake Guentzel described the experience as a whirlwind.
“It’s definitely been a little bit of a whirlwind, kind of first time through this whole process. Obviously things just didn’t work out in Carolina, then I heard Tampa might be trading for my rights and obviously I got really excited because everyone hears how good of a team and how good of a spot this is," Guentzel said on July 1st via NHL.com
Guentzel has 491 points (227 goals, 264 assists) in 520 regular-season games and 67 points in 69 playoff games. Guentzel looks forward to the opportunity with the Lightning organization.
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