Hurricanes sign Sebastian Aho to an 8-year contract extension worth $78 million

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sebastian Aho signed an eight-year contract extension worth $78 million with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Wednesday.

The deal will go into effect for the 2024-25 NHL season. Aho will count $9.75 million against the salary cap from that point through 2032.

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’ll remain – at least for now – the highest-paid player on the roster.

“Sebastian has developed into one of the best two-way centers in hockey,” general manager Don Waddell said. “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.”

The 26-year-old Finn has 468 points in 520 career regular-season games all with Carolina. He’s also nearly a point-a-game player in the playoffs with 58 in 63.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs in each of the past five seasons and are again a contender to win the Stanley Cup.

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 they 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 Philadelphia at the 2022 draft.