Canes' Aho gifted $78M extension on birthday

The Carolina Hurricanes signed center Sebastian Aho to an eight-year, $78 million extension, general manager Don Waddell announced Wednesday.

The deal, which goes into effect next season, averages $9.75 million per year and runs through 2031-32, was announced on Aho’s 26th birthday.

“Sebastian has developed into one of the best two-way centers in hockey,” Waddell said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous leader on and off the ice who sets a great example for our younger players. We’re grateful that he’s decided to stay in Carolina for the foreseeable future.”

Aho gets a raise from the nearly $8.5 million he was making as Carolina’s top center and most important all-around forward. He will remain, at least for now, the highest-paid player on the roster.

Aho scored 36 goals in 2022-23, continuing his streak of seven straight seasons with at least 24 goals that began when he made his Hurricanes debut in 2016-17. He also chipped in 31 assists while playing in 75 games.

He had five goals and seven assists in the playoffs as Carolina reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2019. Aho has been nearly a point-per-game player in his postseason career with 58 in 63.

After entering the offseason with roughly $24 million in cap space, Carolina has been busy retooling its lineup around the edges of a strong core, which included bringing back key pieces.

The Hurricanes re-signed goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, captain Jordan Staal and winger Jesper Fast and made a free agency splash with a two-year deal for defenseman Dmitry Orlov and a three-year deal for forward Michael Bunting. Earlier this week, they brought back defenseman Tony DeAngelo after trading him to the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2022 draft.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.