Aki-Petteri Pulkkinen
Sebastian Aho and Carolina were left with a bone in their hand again, writes NHL journalist Aki-Petteri Pulkkinen.
It was such an NHL transfer limit.
Waiting, waiting and once more waiting. Only after the window closed at 10 pm Finnish time did the rock start playing.
The transfer deadline of 2026 was quite a stretch. Only John Carlson’s trade from Washington to Anaheim was a major surprise.
Vincent Trochek, who was at the top of the charts, did not move, Rasmus Ristolainen and Patrik Laine, who are interesting from a Finnish perspective, did not move.
An hour after the deadline, Nazem Kadri’s transfer to Colorado was confirmed, bringing life to a depressing transfer backlog.
Although it is said that millionaires should not be pitied, one Finn is pitied.
Sebastian Aho was left with nothing this time either.
The Oulu native is in his prime and will be a top-level player for years to come, but it’s sad that the Hurricanes are wasting the best years of one of the best players in the history of the organization like this.
Nothing has changed since last years: Aho has no fire support.
Andrei Svetšnikov is having a really nice season, Nikolaj Ehlers has been the man in place after a slow start, and Seth Jarvis is a great player, but in the playoffs, nice, nice, hey, hey, it’s not enough anymore.
Aho has always put the best on the table in the playoffs and when anything matters. His playoff scoring average is clearly better than the aforementioned trio.
In recent years, the Florida Panthers have pushed past the Hurricanes hard in the playoffs. The acquisition of the hard-nosed Nicolas Deslauriers is the right remedy for that.
But.
Where is the second center that has been called for for years? We know, they don’t grow on trees, but the Hurricanes have fallen into the same problem year after year.
Vincent Trochek and Robert Thomas were now on the market. The Hurricanes should have signed one of them.
Now the same song is repeated: Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi will be available to the Lions after the conference finals at the latest.
Sebastian Aho is once again facing a difficult task. PDO
