Sebastian Aho has high hopes for the 2023-24 Carolina Hurricanes after inking an eight-year, $78-million extension that will keep him in Raleigh for the next nine seasons.
"To me, this is the best team on paper that we ever had," Aho said Wednesday. "I think we have a really capable team in many ways, and obviously that's one of the reasons why it was an easy decision for me (to sign) since (general manager) Don (Waddell) and (owner) Tom (Dundon) and those guys, they're building a really good team.
"As a player, all you can ask, really, from the team (is) you have a chance to win, and we definitely have a chance to be the best team in the league. I'm really excited for the next year."
The Hurricanes have made some key additions so far this summer, reeling in unrestricted free agents Dmitry Orlov and Michael Bunting while reuniting with blue-liner Tony DeAngelo, who found success with the team in 2021-22.
Carolina held onto some familiar faces, too, re-signing goalies Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, as well as captain Jordan Staal and forward Jesper Fast.
The Hurricanes have made the playoffs for the last five seasons and boast the fourth-best regular-season record (226-107-37) in the league dating back to 2018-19. Carolina also finished first in its division for the past three straight campaigns.
As a crucial part of the Hurricanes' success, Aho said it was a "no-brainer" for him to stick around in Carolina. The Finn could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
"This is the place I want to play. … The organization has taken huge steps over the course of the last five years," Aho said. "Obviously, we feel like we're building every year."
Carolina has advanced to the conference finals twice during Aho's tenure and most recently got swept by the Florida Panthers this past spring.
Despite signing Aho, the Hurricanes still have a plethora of players who can hit the open market next offseason, including Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei. Waddell said the Hurricanes are "not close" to getting any other deals done with their next crop of unrestricted free agents.
Carolina has just under $850,000 in cap space remaining, according to CapFriendly.
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