Hurricanes officially match Canadiens' offer sheet for Aho

The Carolina Hurricanes have officially matched the Montreal Canadiens' five-year, $42.27-million offer sheet for Sebastian Aho, the team announced Sunday.

Carolina was given seven days to match after Montreal signed the young Finn on July 1. The following day, Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon announced his club would match the offer, calling the ordeal a "waste of time."

General manager Don Waddell said matching was an "easy decision."

Aho issued the following statement:

The 21-year-old tallied a career-high 83 points in 2018-19. Aho also scored five goals and added seven assists during Carolina's run to the Eastern Conference Final.

The Hurricanes are prohibited from trading Aho for 12 months now that the offer sheet has been matched.