Sebastian Aho did not want anything to do with the Montreal Canadiens, obviously...
During the off-season in 2019, the Montreal Canadiens had submitted a hostile offer to the Finnish center Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes. He had accepted the 5-year contract worth $8.454 million per season, as well as the $38 million offered in signing bonuses by the CH. An offer that the Canes had matched at the time.
However, according to number 20, his intention was always to stay in Carolina, even if he had accepted the Canadiens' offer. He knew there was a chance Don Waddell would let him go to Montreal, but he wanted to stay in Raleigh.
"Everyone knows what can happen when you sign that kind of contract," said Aho. However, I always wanted to stay with the Hurricanes."
With this statement from Aho, one can infer that he used the CH as a pressure point on the Canes. He most likely did not intend to play for the Habs, but rather to sign a lucrative contract. Basically, he used the CH to his advantage.
Then, Sebastian Aho went on to mention that he wasn't too worried about leaving his team because Tom Dundon, the owner of the Canes, was constantly reassuring him. It was a long week of waiting though.
"It's a long week without knowing exactly what's going to happen said Aho. I was pretty confident. Tom (Dundon) told me and the world that he was going to match the offer right away, so I guess it wasn't too bad for me."
This one was mostly referring to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who had to wait a whole week before knowing the Montreal Canadiens' final decision.
Even if they don't really know each other, Sebastian Aho has the firm intention of taking KK under his wing when he arrives with the Hurricanes. He will help him as much as he can so that he can focus 100% on playing hockey. According to him, the new number 82 will bring a little extra to Rod Brind'Amour's team.
"I'm going to help him as much as I can said Aho. At the end of the day, you have to forget about all the talk and just keep doing what you're doing, playing hockey. I'm sure he'll help us a lot as a team. We got a great player back. That's what I think."
