Old North Banter
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3 Things Hurricanes Fans Should Be Thankful For

By Ryan Henkel

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 08: Andrei Svechnikov #37 and Dougie Hamilton #19 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate with teammates after a goal against the Florida Panthers during the first period at BB&T Center on October 08, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 08: Andrei Svechnikov #37 and Dougie Hamilton #19 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate with teammates after a goal against the Florida Panthers during the first period at BB&T Center on October 08, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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No. 3: Mark Bergevin

MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 07: General manager of the Montreal Canadiens Marc Bergevin speaks with the media prior to the NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre on January 7, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 07: General manager of the Montreal Canadiens Marc Bergevin speaks with the media prior to the NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre on January 7, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

No, really. Thanks for getting Aho’s contract wrapped up for us.

After Sebastian Aho’s ELC expired last offseason, it seemed that the Hurricanes would have to go through the grueling process of contract negotiations with one of the top RFAs in the league.

With other big names such as Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, and Brayden Point just to name a few, all opting to wait for the right contract to come onto the table, it seemed that all of the RFAs were likely to drag the process out, cutting into valuable training camp time.

The hockey world had grown weary of contract holdouts after 2018’s big-name holdout, William Nylander, waited until the very last day and the very last minute of the 5 p.m. Dec. 1 deadline to be able to compete in the remainder of the season to sign. Nylander got the money he was after, but he had a relatively poor performance in his return and for the remainder of the season.

When Montreal offer sheeted Aho, they hoped that the “cheap” Carolina Hurricanes wouldn’t be apt to pay the heavily front-loaded and signing bonus laden five-year, $42.27 million contract. That’s where they were wrong.

The Hurricanes wasted no time in announcing that they would match the offer, even going so far as to joke that they were surprised it wasn’t for a higher AAV. Even better, Carolina waited the full seven days allotted to match the offer to make sure and tie up the money that Montreal could have used for other signings.

So, despite what Montreal fans might think and say, Hurricanes fans know they have Marc Begevin to thank for getting Aho’s contract quickly under wraps for them as the Finnish native is off to a great start with 12 goals and 20 points in his first 24 games of the season.

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