NHL Free Agency 2019: 3 most questionable moves
By Liam Spencer
There have been a lot of moves so far in 2019 NHL free agency. Let’s take a look at some of the most questionable ones.
2019 NHL free agency has seen teams do some crazy things. Over $700 million has been committed to free agents since July 1. There has already been one blockbuster trade. However, not every move this time of year is smart. Some of them are just downright silly.
Let’s take a look at the three most questionable moves made so far in free agency.
Montreal Canadiens offer sheet for Sebastian Aho
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That offer sheet was, I dunno, awkward? It seemed Sebastian Aho entertained the idea of playing somewhere other than North Carolina. The Hurricanes were upset, raking Montreal on Twitter and in the press. The front office in Raleigh played it off like the offer was too low, and “a waste of time,” but Aho did sign the offer sheet after all. They were upset he signed the deal in the first place.
It appeared like Aho was willing to take a discount and play for Montreal. I wonder if he seriously thought Carolina wouldn’t match the offer sheet, though. It was strange that he didn’t sign an eight-year deal before July 1st. Could there have been a disconnect between Carolina and Aho’s agent? Would it have rambled on toward the start of the season without the Canadiens’ intervention?
Either way, Don Waddell and the Carolina Hurricanes happily matched Montreal’s offer. They got their guy for a reasonable value. I would’ve had him around $10 million a year, similar to Jack Eichel’s eight-year deal.
With the responsibilities he’ll have going forward, especially under Rod Brind’Amour, $8.4 million really is a team-friendly deal now. For top-line, two-way centers, the only better value that comes to mind is Sidney Crosby’s $8.7 million AAV and Ryan O’Reilly’s $7.5 million AAV. That’s good company and a sign that Aho’s team will be able to support him with other talented players like the Penguins and Blues are able to do, respectively.
Another weird aspect of this deal, though, is its term. The Canadiens offered less term because they had less cap space ($11.8M to be exact). There is going to be a potentially expensive contract situation looming over the Hurricanes’ front office in five years as opposed to seven.
Those two years are important ones in a championship window. Ideally, the Hurricanes would have him on long term but they got their guy at a good price, for now. The Canadiens didn’t necessarily tee it up for the Hurricanes, but they still made it an easy decision to sign their franchise player.