Quick Thoughts: Aho and Saarela

by Mattchoo12 Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:45 pm

Well that didn't take long, did it? The Hurricanes made some headlines today not even 24 hours after the Penguins hoisted the Stanley Cup by signing two Finnish prospects today. Sebastian Aho and Aleksi Saarela were both signed to 3 year deals. Aho's deal comes with a cap hit of about $925,000, and Saarela's comes with a cap hit of about $775,833. (As per generalfanager.com)

This is fantastic news for the Hurricanes, because this means that the post Eric Staal era is coming to an end. Saarela was acquired in the deal that sent Staal to the Rangers, and most people haven't been giving him enough credit. If it weren't for some injury issues, Saarela would have been taken in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft. He is a talented scoring winger that is just under 6 feet tall, and will instantly be given top 6 minutes in Charlotte. This is mainly due to the fact that our next best prospects at right wing are Justin Shugg and Andrew Poturalski....but I digress.

Aho's contract, as well as Saarela's, is a two way deal. He could spend some time in Charlotte at the beginning of the season to adjust to the North American game, and then make the jump up to the NHL. He's shown Canes fans that he can be dangerous from anywhere on the ice, and Canes fans couldn't be happier. Many fans believe that he will help relieve the Hurricanes of their scoring issues, and even become a top line winger. This further increases the buzz around next season, and will allow for the franchise and its market to continue to expand at a rapid pace.

That's all for tonight, be sure to follow me on Twitter @CanesNetfront for more Canes content!