There’s a lot to like about Sebastian Aho.
The 6-foot, 176-pound centre posted 30-53-83 totals in 82 regular-season games last season with the Carolina Hurricanes and then added 5-7-12 totals in 15 playoff games. He only turns 22 on July 26 and has already played 242 career regular-season games, posting 83-114-197 totals.
That’s why Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin gave Aho — a restricted free agent — an offer sheet on Monday that would pay him $42.25 million over five years with most of it coming in signing bonuses.
What does Bergevin like about the Finnish player the Hurricanes selected in the second round (35th overall) at the 2015 NHL Draft?
“Young player for us,” the GM said during a news conference Monday afternoon at the Bell Centre after Aho agreed to sign the offer sheet. “Centre … played centre the whole year. Performed in the playoffs. The age with our group. Very smart, very skilled, makes other people better around him. … For him to want to be part of this, what we’re trying to accomplish moving forward, I think it says a lot about the player.
“I’m not saying he’s a missing piece,” Bergevin added. “He’s a very good piece, a very young piece and he fits very well with our young players.”
Bergevin understands other GMs and teams around the NHL probably won’t be happy with him producing an offer sheet for a restricted free agent, something that rarely happens.
“I understand,” he said. “It’s part of the CBA, it’s within the rules. I’m responsible to (team owner/president) Geoff Molson and our fans and that’s what I’m here to do. Like I always said, it’s not about just spending foolishly. It’s about spending on the right people and we felt that Sebastian was the right people to go after.”
The GM added: “I’m willing to do anything to help the Montreal Canadiens. That’s what I’m here to do.”
Bergevin said he looked at all the available options on the free-agent market, including forwards Matt Duchene and Anders Lee. Duchene ended up signing a seven-year, US$56-million deal with the Nashville Predators, while Lee stayed with the New York Islanders, signing a seven-year deal worth US$49 million. The Canadiens had expressed interest in both players.
“We looked at everybody,” Bergevin said. “To be honest, we looked at everybody.”
That included defencemen — especially ones who shoot left with the possibility of playing beside Shea Weber on the No. 1 pairing. But Bergevin came up empty on Monday.
When asked if Aho could turn the Canadiens into a Stanley Cup contender, Bergevin said: “I would say with him in the lineup, I’m going to go out on a limb here: He’ll make our team better. But again, it’s a tough league. Anything’s possible. It doesn’t mean because you get a player you’re in the playoffs right away. There’s 82 games you got to battle through and you have to make it.”
The GM added: “We felt this player, Sebastian at 21 years old, was the right target for us.”
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