If we're placing blame, here's what I see:
1/3 of the blame to Dundon/Waddell: I get using your leverage. I get trying to keep costs low. But if you're going to be cutthroat about saving every dime, you have to expect others to use what leverage they have. They seem to have completely excluded the offre hostile from their risk assessment. It should not have gotten to this.
1/3 of the blame to Aho / Johansson: My gut reaction was that they were just using the tools available to them, and they didn't even work very hard to lock the Canes out, but screw that. This damages Aho's brand in Carolina, at least to some degree, and the potential downside there wasn't worth the risk. Yeah, Dundon is no fun to negotiate with, but it's clear there's no desire to play in Montreal, and Aho made people doubt him for very little upside.
1/3 of the blame to Molson / Bergevin: These guys had to know this wouldn't work. Either that, or they're just idiots. Trying to take advantage of a cash-poor team is just bad pool. They'd have a better chance of getting Brayden Point with this offer, due to Tampa Bay's cap situation. They did this just to humiliate Carolina and stick it to Dundon. f*** them.
But at the end of the day, Dundon has no choice but to match. Even if you take the potential hard feelings, shock, and everything else out of it, losing Aho really is a death-blow to the franchise. He *will* lose fans. He *will* lose the confidence of those who stay. There is literally no point in owning the club if you don't match this offer for Sebastian Aho.