Sebastian Aho top priority for Hurricanes owner - "Kind of his team now"

By ADITYA KAR

Modified May 31, 2023 22:36 GMT

Sebastian Aho has had a good season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He led the team to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2019. The team was, however, swept by the Florida Panthers.

Tom Dundon, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, is still in disbelief of the defeat. Even though they outperformed the Florida Panthers in all four games in every category, the Stanley Cup playoffs will continue without them on Saturday.

The owner's conclusion after the unexpected sweep is: let's go back and do it again.

Dundon said that means working quickly to re-sign Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei (roughly in that order of importance). He included seriously considering re-signing the majority of the Hurricanes' unrestricted free agents, with Staal and Jesper Fast at the top of that list.

“You have to look at all 97 games we played,” Dundon said Tuesday. “The last four I actually thought we played pretty well in most of them and didn’t win. You’re going to tweak around the edges but I don’t want to overreact and get worse. It’s hard to get better from where we are. It’s easier to get worse."

Aho's name was one of the first that came out of his mouth.

“We want to get him on an eight-year deal, done as soon as possible. It’s a top, top priority. I think we’re on the same page. It’s kind of his team now.”

Hockey insider Elliote Friedman was not surprised to hear the news. He confirmed that it was indeed a priority.

"I'm not surprised that they named Aho as their first priority and I have no doubt that they won't make an honest effort to get it done."

Aho has a year left in his deal. According to Friedman, Sebastian Aho's situation requires a bit of grinding. The front office is confident that they will sign him to a new deal. In this case, the journalist asserted that Tom Dundon's words need to be taken at face value.

Sebastian Aho- the face of the Carolina Hurricanes

Sebastian Aho

Sebastian Aho had a great 2022-23 season. During the season, he led the Hurricanes in goals, shorthanded goals (three), shorthanded points (four), and game-winning goals (nine)

He achieved the 60-point mark for the sixth time in his NHL career (67 points; 36 goals, 31 assists) this season, too.

During a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders in Game 4 of the 2023 Eastern Conference First Round, he scored his 20th Stanley Cup Playoff goal. He passed Eric Staal for the most in team history.

Sebastian Aho scored five goals and seven assists in this year's playoffs. He again became the lynchpin for this team in the playoffs. But sadly, their team couldn't get past the Florida Panthers in the Conference Finals.