The Montreal Canadiens shocked the hockey world on Monday when they signed Carolina Hurricanes restricted free-agent forward Sebastian Aho to a five-year, $42.27-million offer sheet. It was the first time since 2013 that an offer sheet had been signed.
For Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, who said Tuesday his club will match the offer sheet, it was apparently more of a nuisance than an actual obstacle.
"Everyone's trying to make their team better," Dundon told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "We've looked at all the ways to (do that), never came to the conclusion that the offer sheet was the best way. Your probability of succeeding is almost zero. It was proven that it was a waste of time."
Only one offer sheet - Dustin Penner in 2007 - hasn't been matched since 1997.
The $8.454-million cap hit on Aho's offer sheet was much lower than many expected for a player of his caliber. However, Montreal front-loaded the deal with $21.87 million to be paid out in bonuses over the first 12 months.
"This sounds terrible but writing that check is no big deal," Dundon said, according to The Athletic's Sara Civian. "The fact that you're (Canadian media) asking me if $20 million is a lot might be how we got in this situation."
Dundon became the majority owner of the Hurricanes on Jan. 11, 2018. Forbes estimated his net worth to be $1.1 billion in 2015.
Aho's agent, Gerry Johansson, added some drama to the situation by telling reporters that his client "100 percent" wants to play in Montreal.
"I couldn't care less about Sebastian's agent," Dundon told Civian. "It doesn't matter at all.
"There's no scenario where Sebastian Aho doesn't want to be on the Hurricanes. If he said that it would be different but he didn't. The fact that an agent said it means that there's no credibility to it, number one."
On Monday, Aho signed the five-year offer sheet, which carries an average annual value of $8.454 million. The deal is front-loaded with bonuses of $21.87 million - more than half of the total money in the contract - to be paid within the first calendar year.
"We're surprised," Dundon said of Montreal's offer. "We love the player and we're happy to have this done. And surprised someone would have thought this would work."
Dundon's comments echoed those of Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell, who said Monday that he was surprised the average annual value of Aho's offer sheet wasn't higher.
"This was an easy decision," Waddell added in a statement. "Sebastian is one of the best players in the league and the centerpiece of what we're building here. We've spoken to him throughout this process and he's made it clear that he wants to be in Raleigh and be a part of this organization.
"It's our job to manage our cap space as our players develop and hit free agency. There was no concern at any point that we would not be able to match this contract. Once again, the Carolina Hurricanes should not be underestimated. We have a plan and all the resources to win a Stanley Cup."
Before Carolina announced it would match the Canadiens' offer, Aho's agent, Gerry Johansson, said his client "100 percent" wanted to play in Montreal.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes will be prohibited from trading Aho for 12 months after they officially match the offer sheet.
With the initial flurry of free agency in the rearview mirror, the hockey world now shifts its focus to the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes, who stole headlines July 1 with the NHL's first offer sheet since 2013.
The Habs officially filed their intent to pluck 'Canes leading scorer Sebastian Aho on Monday afternoon, tendering a five-year contract that pays $8.45 million annually. The 21-year-old Finn signed the agreement, giving Carolina a week to decide whether to match or not.
Aho's agent, Gerry Johannson, said his client is open to moving north.
"I think that Sebastian 100 percent wants to play in Montreal," Johannson told Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic. "He wouldn't have signed an offer sheet if he didn't want to play in Montreal."
While the cap hit is certainly reasonable for a player of Aho's caliber, the kicker on the deal is the signing bonuses; Montreal flexed its financial muscle by offering Aho more than $21 million over the first 12 months of the contract.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said he was surprised the value of the offer sheet wasn't higher and his club seems intent on matching. But Johansson believes forking over that much money so early in the deal isn't a simple process for a small-market team like Carolina.
"I don't think it's easy for Carolina," Johansson said. "I can tell you for sure, it's not easy for Carolina. Anybody who says this is easy is wrong. You can armchair quarterback any decision, but I can promise you this is an aggressive move ... It's a lot of money, and it's a lot of front-loaded money."
Aho had a career year in 2018-19, his third NHL season. He registered 83 points in 82 games before adding 12 more in 15 playoff contests.
With free agency underway, here's a roundup of all the best players still available. The biggest names are off the board, but some potentially helpful talent remains up for grabs.
The opening day of NHL free agency didn't disappoint, with several clubs making franchise-altering moves that might shift the league's balance of power.
Some of Monday's deals were undoubtedly shrewd, but others left something to be desired.
Here's who won the day and who's going to regret the start of this summer's free-agency period:
Winners
New York Rangers
The Rangers reeled in the biggest fish on the market within the first hour of the frenzy, signing Artemi Panarin to a reported seven-year deal with an average annual value of $11.64 million.
New York got an elite scorer and game-breaker who'll turn 28 in October while apparently beating out the crosstown-rival New York Islanders for the Russian's services.
Panarin bolsters an already promising core that includes 2019's No. 2 overall selection Kaapo Kakko and newly acquired restricted free-agent blue-liner Jacob Trouba.
Trouba still needs a new contract, but regardless, New York is now primed to significantly improve next season and beyond.
Florida Panthers
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The Panthers didn't get both Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky as they'd previously hoped, but they did land the latter and had a very successful day overall.
Florida needed to replace the recently retired Roberto Luongo, and Bobrovsky should more than adequately accomplish that. Despite his regular-season woes with Columbus last season, he posted the best playoff numbers of his career this spring.
The reported term of seven years is lengthy for a netminder who'll be 31 in September, and the apparent $10-million cap hit isn't ideal, but Bobrovsky was the most accomplished goalie on the market. His postseason performance served as a reminder of what he's still capable of while potentially vanquishing his past playoff demons once and for all.
The Panthers also made a few other solid albeit less impactful moves Monday, bringing in the likes of Brett Connolly up front and Anton Stralman on the blue line.
Nashville Predators
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David Poile finally got his man.
The worst-kept secret in hockey finally came to fruition Monday, as the Predators and Matt Duchene could, at long last, turn their mutual interest into a signed contract.
Even more impressively, the Predators were able to get the talented forward on a reasonable cap hit of $8 million despite the fact that Duchene's camp knew how much Nashville wanted him.
The move also justified the trade of P.K. Subban at the draft, as Poile could afford to subtract from his deep defensive corps to add a major piece to his top-six forward group.
It's hard to fault Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen for going all-in at the trade deadline, but the Blue Jackets' present and future took significant blows Monday.
As expected, Columbus lost Panarin, Bobrovsky, and Duchene on the opening day of unrestricted free agency. In addition, the fact that Panarin turned down the team's last-ditch eight-year offer Sunday night in favor of a seven-year pact with a lower AAV didn't reflect well on the Blue Jackets.
Kekalainen did sign Gustav Nyquist, a solid forward in his own right, but neither that deal nor the new pacts for Joonas Korpisalo and Ryan Murray will do much to make up for the multiple holes now hampering the roster.
The GM still deserves credit for his bold moves in February, and the Blue Jackets clearly wouldn't have pulled off their improbable first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning had he not been as bold. But that vision was short-sighted, as Columbus' roster is now a shadow of what it once was.
New York Islanders
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Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders were active Monday, but activity and success are two very different things.
Right off the hop, they missed out on Panarin and had to accept the fact that he'd chosen the rival Rangers.
The Islanders then overpaid for captain Anders Lee's services, perhaps in response to coming up short on Panarin.
Finally, New York made a surprising goaltending maneuver by signing Semyon Varlamov to a four-year, $20-million contract after Robin Lehner chose to leave the Islanders for a one-year, $5-million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Nabbing Varlamov was a necessary move after Lehner opted for the Windy City, but the Islanders shouldn't have given him four years, especially at the same cap hit that Lehner ultimately received from Chicago.
Edmonton Oilers
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The Oilers didn't do enough to help Connor McDavid or to address their goaltending issues on July 1.
GM Ken Holland settled for 37-year-old Mike Smith despite the presence of several superior netminding options on the market and couldn't muster better forward signings than Markus Granlund and Tomas Jurco, in addition to re-upping Alex Chiasson and Jujhar Khaira.
Holland didn't have much wiggle room cap-wise, but he still could've done more on the trade market to create more space to improve his new club and reshape its roster.
Colorado will retain 50 percent of Barrie’s $5.5-million cap hit as part of the transaction.
Barrie, 27, is an elite skater and a valuable right-hand shot on the blue line. He recorded a career-high 59 points with Colorado last season.
Kerfoot, signed by the Avalanche ahead of the 2017-18 campaign, has tallied 85 points in 157 pro contests. The 24-year-old center is a restricted free agent and in need of a new deal.
Kadri, who has played all nine seasons of his career with Toronto, saw his production drop last season after being pushed down the Leafs' depth chart following the addition of John Tavares, but still contributed 44 points in 73 games. The 28-year-old has three years remaining on his current contract with an annual cap hit of $4.5 million.
Rosen spent the majority of last season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL and recorded 46 points in 54 games.
The Maple Leafs currently have $11 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly, but still need to sign Kerfoot and defenseman Cody Ceci, who was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators. Restricted free agent Mitch Marner is also in need of a new deal.
