Get ready for the free agent frenzy

[Devlin]

I guess the offer to Aho was for less than he wanted. I'd think carolina would match.

[piper1]

I guess the offer to Aho was for less than he wanted. I'd think carolina would match.

It will cost the team owner all of Carolina's gate proceeds for next season the way the contract is structured. Is he prepared to do that and in effect cover the signing out of pocket?

[creasecollector]

Random KHL news, but Jhonas Enroth signed another 1-year deal with Dinamo Minsk. Stoked! This means more KHL cards!

[RGM81]

I guess the offer to Aho was for less than he wanted. I'd think carolina would match.

If the offer sheet was less than he wanted, he wouldn't have signed it.

Carolina will likely match, but MB did a nice bit of hardball there and showed that he's willing to go out and make a splash to get a player he wants that can help the team.

[scottkoz20]

Carolina has matched the offer according to Capfriendly

[piper1]

Carolina has matched the offer according to Capfriendly

They have stated that they intend to match the offer withing the allotted timeframe, so not official yet.

[Leafsman]

Carolina has matched the offer according to Capfriendly

I'm not surprised in the least. I said it before and I'll say it again: This wasn't a serious offer. Bergevin just wanted attention.

If/when Carolina matches, this proves two things:

1. The owner isn't afraid to open his wallet after all

2. Montreal's offer was not even close to good enough to make Carolina flinch.

What a waste of time offer sheets are proving to be. I'm betting they are removed in the next collective bargaining agreement. Only one or two have worked in the last, what, 20 years? Dustin Penner is the only player that comes to mind who signed an offer sheet and went to his new team.

[scottkoz20]

They have stated that they intend to match the offer withing the allotted timeframe, so not official yet.

I'll take this as about as official as we'll probably get

Spoke with Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon today who says the Hurricanes will match the offer on Aho. It will be my final piece of the season and I think you will enjoy it. Should be posted within the hour.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 2, 2019

[scottkoz20]

I'm not surprised in the least. I said it before and I'll say it again: This wasn't a serious offer. Bergevin just wanted attention.

if it was not a serious offer, then why did the player sign it? At the end of the day Aho thought it was serious enough to sign it! Attention seeking or not.

[Leafsman]

if it was not a serious offer, then why did the player sign it? At the end of the day Aho thought it was serious enough to sign it! Attention seeking or not.

The fact that Aho signed it is irrelevant. Carolina has the cap space to match, so the offer is a joke.

Offer sheets are supposed to be designed to put pressure on the current team and make them sweat out their decision, to make things difficult enough on the team that they likely would not match, but the new team would have to pay a steep compensation if it's a top player. It's another way for a team to try and acquire a player. That's the purpose of an offer sheet as I see it and that's why you don't see many offered.

Even industry insiders consider that deal laughable. Aho signed it because he just wants money. That's it. Does not mean it's a viable contract offer.

Plain and simple, this is a PR stunt that backfired for Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens, in my opinion.