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Sebastian Aho May Already Be Hurricanes Greatest Player Ever

The Carolina Hurricanes' top player is rapidly moving up the organizational ranks in multiple categories.

Jacob Punturi

Oct 28, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho (20) scores the game winning goal on Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen (32) in overtime at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho (20) scores the game winning goal on Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen (32) in overtime at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images / Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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The Carolina Hurricanes are off and rolling to begin the 2024-2025 season. The team is 6-2 through their first eight games, quieting a summer full of doubt cast on them. After losing forward Jake Guentzel to free agency and an offseason of negotiating with their restricted free agents, many believed the Canes would take a step back in the Metropolitan Division.

What most people failed to acknowledge is that the Hurricanes' best players remained on their team through the offseason overhaul, and no one is more important to their team than forward Sebastian Aho. The 27-year-old center is the top player, offensive engine, and leader in the locker room. Through the team's first few weeks, he has eight points in eight games.

It's just Aho's ninth season with the Hurricanes, but he's already staking a claim in the ground as the franchise's top player ever. That is a huge bar to reach, as the team is paced all-time by organizational icon and Hall of Fame player Ron Francis. Francis played in 1,186 NHL games for the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers and is the all-time team leader in scoring with 1,175 points.

Aho has played in 606 career games and he currently has a point total of 565 points. Just taking a rudimentary approach to projecting Aho's next decade, it's possible that he will surpass Francis by the time he's hung up his skates. If he continues this pace through another 600 NHL games, he'd have roughly 1,130 career points.

But it's not just the scoring that is setting Aho apart from his teammates of the past and present. Aho has the clutch factor, and he seems to always deliver wins for his team.

In the team's most recent contest against the Vancouver Canucks, that was again on display. With the two teams tied in the overtime period, Aho buried a rebound chance behind the Canucks' goalie to give his team a 4-3 victory. That tally marked the 57th game-winning goal in Aho's career and tied Francis for the most game-winners in Hurricanes/Whalers' history.

The only other thing standing between Aho and his place as the franchise's greatest of all time is championships. While Francis never lead the Whalers or Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup, he lifted two himself during his career. Aho has a chance to lead the team to their first championship in over two decades, and if he does he can solidify himself as the Hurricanes' greatest player ever.

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Jacob Punturi
JACOB PUNTURI

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