GDT: 1st July 2019 - free agent frenzy

[GoldiFox]

Sebastian Aho's agent thinks it won’t be easy for...

Can we throw out the "this is just a negotiating tactic" narrative yet?

The irksome truth is that Sebastian Aho is 100% fine with playing in Montreal next year. It sucks to recognize as a Canes fan. This isn't a situation like Karlsson in Vegas or Lee with the Islanders where the player loves the team and wants to stay on a long-term deal.

The offer sheet will be matched and 5 years might as well be 8 years, it is that far off. Worrying about a TT + Aho "where do they go as a pair" UFA 5 years from now is pointless. The bigger problem will come in 2 years when Svechnikov is up and GMs smell blood in the water again. Hopefully the Canes can manage negotiations better next time.

 

[DougieSmash]

Aho for captain

 

[spockBokk]

In the end, I do not see any outcome where Dundon doesn’t match. He’s been pushed into a corner where he’s either got to put up the cash or shut up about having any serious intentions of having a competitive team in a small market. The deal is pretty team friendly, after the first year bonuses, in all aspects except for term.

I do worry a bit about Dundon holding a grudge against Aho, and there will have to be some fence mending for sure. I think the best outcome today this whole fiasco will hopefully be the braintrust learning a hard lesson about the new and unfortunate reality of negotiating RFA contracts and that they apply those lessons learned to Svech and Necas in the coming years.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I’ve been “patient to wait and see how things work out” and even positive with how this management group has handled things, but if they let Aho walk here, I’ll probably be done. I don’t expect that to happen though.

Do like Nashville. Match it and let everyone know you won’t be bullied.

 

[The Faulker 27]

There's a difference in having a "plan B" team and wanting to play in Montreal over Carolina. Montreal was willing to give him an offer sheet, and yes Aho is willing to play for Montreal that much is obvious. My feelings aren't hurt by it. I really like my job, and where I work, but I have a plan-B company as we speak. In fact I have a few. If the next few years of raises don't go the way I'd like them to, you can bet I can find things to like at other jobs.

 

[WreckingCrew]

There's a difference in having a "plan B" team and wanting to play in Montreal over Carolina. Montreal was willing to give him an offer sheet, and yes Aho is willing to play for Montreal that much is obvious. My feelings aren't hurt by it. I really like my job, and where I work, but I have a plan-B company as we speak. In fact I have a few. If the next few years of raises don't go the way I'd like them to, you can bet I can find things to like at other jobs.

Yea, I think the media is being deliberately deceitful with their wording...signing the offer sheet shows he's WILLING to play in Montreal (on the off chance we don't match), but not that he necessarily WANTS to play there. They've got one string and they're going to pluck it until they die.

If anything, as others have said, it's possible he really does want to play here but wanted a 5 year deal so he could evaluate his future in 5 years. So he signed an offer sheet that (while favorable with up front bonuses) he was reasonably sure Carolina would match.

That said, it's definitely a dick move by Montreal intentionally front-loading the whole contract as a **** you to Carolina...I do hope we manage to **** them over a bit in the future with an offer sheet or something.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

What I will say is that all the nice things I had to say about this situation and about Aho can potentially be taken back if the next week is full of articles like that with the agent saying he wants to play for Montreal.

Hoping everyone involved gives their one take and steps back. If the next week becomes a pissing match through the media, then I think concerns about needing to mend fences become not just valid but entirely warranted.

 

[Svechhammer]

Yea, I think the media is being deliberately deceitful with their wording...signing the offer sheet shows he's WILLING to play in Montreal (on the off chance we don't match), but not that he necessarily WANTS to play there. They've got one string and they're going to pluck it until they die.

If anything, as others have said, it's possible he really does want to play here but wanted a 5 year deal so he could evaluate his future in 5 years. So he signed an offer sheet that (while favorable with up front bonuses) he was reasonably sure Carolina would match.

That said, it's definitely a dick move by Montreal intentionally front-loading the whole contract as a **** you to Carolina...I do hope we manage to **** them over a bit in the future with an offer sheet or something.

This whole thing has been a 'f*** you' to the fans of Carolina, and Dundon in particular. I was listening to NHL Radio on the way in to work and they made a point of saying "its curious they didn't target a team in cap hell, and instead targeted one in organizational hell"

Like, f*** you. f*** everyone associated with this sport. I hope this pisses Dundon off to the point where he's hell bent on destroying the good ol boy framework of the league from the inside. I'm sure there are more than a few 'small market' franchises that would join forces in such a venture.

 

[DaveG]

Sebastian Aho's agent thinks it won’t be easy for...


Can we throw out the "this is just a negotiating tactic" narrative yet?

Sorry,it's a negotiating tactic. Agent is buddy buddy with MB and this is a talk with the f***ing Habs reporter, what the hell is he going to say?

 

[GoldiFox]

Frankly I think he's right, he's probably still not "worried" about an offer sheet. The cap number is excellent.

Aho's agent himself - the one who has been negotiating with Dundon for a year now - said that the Cap number wouldn't be the main issue for the Canes:

I don’t think it is easy for Carolina,” Johannson said. “I can tell you for sure, it’s not easy for Carolina. Anybody who says this is easy is wrong. You can armchair quarterback any decision, but I can promise you this is an aggressive move … It’s a lot of money, and it’s a lot of front-loaded money."

“Who knows? Carolina is going to do what they’re going to do, but trust me, this is not an easy decision for them.”

Sorry,it's a negotiating tactic. Agent is buddy buddy with MB and this is a talk with the ****ing Habs reporter, what the he'll is he going to say?

If it is an easy match and most people expect the Canes to match then I don't see what is to be gained by Aho's agent speaking publicly about how much Aho wants to play in Montreal. The negotiation is already done. This is squirting gas on the fire.

 

[Armchair GM]

Trade rumours:

Patrik Laine to Colorado Avalanche.

What do you think could be the possible trade?

 

[Canes]

The irksome truth is that Sebastian Aho is 100% fine with playing in Montreal next year. It sucks to recognize as a Canes fan. This isn't a situation like Karlsson in Vegas or Lee with the Islanders where the player loves the team and wants to stay on a long-term deal.

The offer sheet will be matched and 5 years might as well be 8 years, it is that far off. Worrying about a TT + Aho "where do they go as a pair" UFA 5 years from now is pointless. The bigger problem will come in 2 years when Svechnikov is up and GMs smell blood in the water again. Hopefully the Canes can manage negotiations better next time.

Yep, hopefully Waddell and Dundon don't get caught with their pants down again. A little more urgency to get a deal done could have avoided all of this. I read in one article the last time Waddell reached out to Aho and his camp before they signed the offer sheet was at the draft. Was he using carrier pigeons? Did he start to get a bit too full of himself? Either way, there is little excuse to be caught by surprise on an offer sheet.

 

[GoldiFox]

Yep, hopefully Waddell and Dundon don't get caught with their pants down again. A little more urgency to get a deal done could have avoided all of this. I read in one article the last time Waddell reached out to Aho and his camp before they signed the offer sheet was at the draft. Was he using carrier pigeons? Did he start to get a bit too full of himself? Either way, there is little excuse to be caught by surprise on an offer sheet.

I am still confused about the timing and "surprise" of this offer sheet.

On one hand Waddell said something about a 2:40 PM email informing them of the offer sheet and how it shocked everyone.
On the other hand we have this account from Waddell reported in The Athletic today:

(Waddell)“We met in Vancouver, we thought we had good conversations, we thought they were gonna come back to us with a counter, then on Friday they said that there was no counter coming,” he said. “So we kind of knew this was coming. Players got rights in the CBA, managers have rights in the CBA, and they exercised those.”

So this came out of the blue at 2:40PM yesterday while Dundon was golfing but also they knew for sure last Friday that this was happening because Aho's camp told them definitively that they were done negotiating with them?

 

[Novacane]

Yep, hopefully Waddell and Dundon don't get caught with their pants down again. A little more urgency to get a deal done could have avoided all of this. I read in one article the last time Waddell reached out to Aho and his camp before they signed the offer sheet was at the draft. Was he using carrier pigeons? Did he start to get a bit too full of himself? Either way, there is little excuse to be caught by surprise on an offer sheet.

Waddell mentioned in the press conference that Aho and agent were supposed to respond to the offer with a counter between the draft and start of free agency. Once it became apparent a counter wasn’t being made, he got ready for an offer sheet

Just for my memory, who wanted to postpone contract negotiations until the season was over? I thought it was Aho. And if so, you have to be honest, a little more than a month with all the other shit going on isn’t a lot of time

 

[DougieSmash]

Nothing makes much sense at the moment honestly. I'm afraid we won't match it.

 

[DaveG]

Aho's agent himself - the one who has been negotiating with Dundon for a year now - said that the Cap number wouldn't be the main issue for the Canes:






If it is an easy match and most people expect the Canes to match then I don't see what is to be gained by Aho's agent speaking publicly about how much Aho wants to play in Montreal. The negotiation is already done. This is squirting gas on the fire.

It's the story of the off season and he's being contracted about it by the media in one of the involved markets. He's not going to decline an interview. I'd bet you a beer that the second it's matched and either Luke or Sara reaches him for an interview the line is "of course we wanted them to match, but the two sides were far enough apart on term that this became the only viable option to get the term we wanted"

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

 

[vorbis]

I dunno, maybe I'm more cynical than others (wouldn't be the first time) but it doesn't bother me or bum me out one iota that Aho was willing to play in Montreal.

anybody that becomes a player in one of the big 4 North American sports leagues is going to have to accept the possibility that they could play nearly anywhere, and in the NHL in particular players know that the moment they sign a contract, it can be moved with almost no say from the player whatsoever, aside from negotiated and collectively bargained restrictions that are not easy to attain.

in that environment, I wouldn't expect any player to have more than a modest amount of loyalty for the team that drafts them, aside from very special circumstances. I don't think there's any doubt that Aho enjoys playing in Raleigh, and there are lots of attractive elements to staying in place for a long time. but part of being a successful franchise is having the capacity to make that case in an environment where every opportunity to go elsewhere is available as well. if some vague sense of connection is your biggest card to play in a free agency negotiation, then you're really not as successful as you would hope to be.

 

[Canes]

Waddell mentioned in the press conference that Aho and agent were supposed to respond to the offer with a counter between the draft and start of free agency. Once it became apparent a counter wasn’t being made, he got ready for an offer sheet

Just for my memory, who wanted to postpone contract negotiations until the season was over? I thought it was Aho. And if so, you have to be honest, a little more than a month with all the other **** going on isn’t a lot of time

Expecting a counter offer then never getting one just makes me wonder just how bad the original offer was. Must have been pretty insulting. I guess the rumors about the lowball offers had a lot of truth to them, especially if he decided to go ahead and sign offer sheet less than 3 hours into free agency after no RFA had signed one in several years.

 

[The Stranger]

It begs the question, if the Hurricane FO was so happy with the contract terms...and presumably Aho and his agent were also...why were they not able to reach it themselves?

 

[zman77]

Montreal is desperate to impress the fan base.
Dumb move by Marc Bergevin.
He just helped Waddell.
Interview:
"How's your day going?" Waddell was asked.
"Great," he smiled, as he sat down. "Couldn't be any better."
The offer sheet was, of course, the focus of conversation.
"I'm actually surprised it wasn't more," Waddell quipped about the average annual value of $8.454 million. "We're just reviewing it. We haven't had time to really bring everybody in the inner circle in to talk about it."
All signs point toward the team matching the offer, bringing Aho under contract for the next five years.
"We look at Sebastian as our best player," Waddell said. "We certainly want to keep him long term."
Will Hurricanes Match Offer Sheet for Sebastian Aho?

 

[wolfofthesteppes]

If it is an easy match and most people expect the Canes to match then I don't see what is to be gained by Aho's agent speaking publicly about how much Aho wants to play in Montreal. The negotiation is already done. This is squirting gas on the fire.

Two options I suppose, he could really think this, and also Aho really does want to play in Montreal, or he doesn't want to burn bridges in Montreal and essentially flat out state he played the Canadiens like a fiddle to get Aho the deal he wanted here.

 

[MinJaBen]

Was Dundon one of those executive present that were cheering? If no, then this doesn't matter one bit.

 

[Canes]

It begs the question, if the Hurricane FO was so happy with the contract terms...and presumably Aho and his agent were also...why were they not able to reach it themselves?

Yeah, I don't think for a second they are happy about the poison pill signing bonus inclusion. They might be happy with the AAV though.

 

[hurricure]

Just curious... are the canes able to trade Aho away right now to another team so they can match the offer? Or are they the only team that can match? Aho at 8.5 for 5 years, seems like he would be worth way more than 3 pics?