Sebastian Aho’s breakout NHL season has come to a screeching halt.
On Sunday night in Raleigh, Carolina Hurricanes scoring left winger was dummied by Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano as he cut to the slot to attempt a shot on Mike Smith.
The veteran Giordano totally greased the 20-year old Aho, who suffered not one, but two different injuries as a result of the head shot he absorbed.
Giordano was assessed a match penalty and was tossed out of the game. Amazingly, Giordano will not be facing any supplemental discipline for the head trauma he has caused Aho.
The Canes have confirmed that Aho will be off the ice indefinitely with a concussion and knee injury.
The injury comes at a terrible time for Aho, who had scored 14 points in his previous 10 games entering Sunday’s game with the Flames.
Prior to the Aho injury, Canes GM Ron Francis had been scouting the NHL in search of a top six scoring forward. Francis’ sense of urgency just ratcheted up a few notches with the bad news concerning Aho, who leads the Hurricanes with both 16 goals and 37 points. Aho has been driving the Carolina offense for weeks, which has allowed the Canes to keep pace with the lead pack in the crushed-beer-can-standings of the Metropolitan Division. The Canes are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and would be buried in the cellar were it not for Aho’s offensive contributions.
With 48 points in 45 games, the Hurricanes are tied for sixth place with the Philadephia Flyers and NY Islanders. The NY Rangers have 49 points, Pittsburgh Penguins 51, New Jersey Devils 52, and Columbus Blue Jackets 53 points. The Canes entered Monday night’s NHL action tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Canes are now on their NHL-mandated five-day hiatus period. They will likely lose ground in the Metro standings while they sit idle.
Francis will no doubt be looking outside his organization for a solution to his sudden goal scoring crisis in the wake of the Aho injury. Of his 16 goals this season, 12 have come at even strength (28 even strength points). Aho has been averaging 17:46 TOI and has 129 shots on goal.
Canes scouts have routinely visited Buffalo this season. Partly because Sabres and Canes have played one another, partly because the Canes have been keeping tabs on power forward Evander Kane. The power winger is on pace for a career high in points. Kane has scored 16 goals and 20 assists in 44 games. Kane is averaging .82 points per game in the final year of his current contract. Of Kane’s 16 goals, 14 have come at even strength. Of his 36 points this season, 28 of Kane’s points have come at even strength. In his past 114 games since December 3, 2016, Kane has scored 44 goals and 35 assists; 39 of his 44 goals have been scored at even strength.
The Canes have $15 million in salary cap space. Francis also has two hockey bags jam packed with premium, young NHL prospects.
Hurricanes All Star defenseman Noah Hanifin may be the bait to land a top six scoring forward. Hanifin, 20, who is averaging 18:25 TOI, has scored 7 goals and 14 assists in 45 games this season. Defense prospect Jake Bean, who played a leadership role on Team Canada’s gold medal winning squad at the IIHF World Juniors in Buffalo two weeks ago. Bean has 5 goals and 22 assists in 25 games with the Calgary Hitmen this season. Former first round draft choice defenseman Haydn Fleury is averaging 16:26 TOI in his rookie NHL season. Fleury scored 7 goals and 19 assists last season for the Charlotte Checkers.
Kane won’t be a cheap acquisition. The team that trades for him will have to part with a top organizational prospect, a roster player and premium draft choice (1st rounder).
Ron Francis has the luxury of organizational depth at defense.
Jason Botterill of the Sabres wants to fortify his D corps. Francis has proven that he is not afraid to trade his youthful currency for proven NHL players. The Canes GM wanted defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and traded a second-round draft choice to the Vegas Knights for TVR and a seventh rounder. Francis needed a tendy so he traded a third rounder to Chicago for Scott Darling.
If Kane is the top six scoring forward that Francis has decided upon, he better act quickly. Several NHL teams are sky high on Kane right now. Teams vying for Evander Kane are the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, NY Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames.
I covered the World Juniors in Buffalo. Ron Francis was in attendance for many of the games during the tourney. Francis had several prospects playing t the WJC's. Francis has a discerning eye for talent. He knows top talent when he sees it. Francis knows the value of having a power forward in his lineup, especially in the playoffs.
Botterill will ride this Kane train until February. There are no imminent plans to trade Kane. It's not "close". Botterill has been working on the Kane situation since the summer of 2017. Botterill continues to speak with his NHL GM counterparts regrding Kane. The price for Kane is not decreasing. It's increasing day to day. In other words, Botterill is going to hold out until the NHL trade deadline on February 26 before he trades his pendng UFA Kane.
Over the past few months, Francis has learned that the price for Montreal Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty and Ottawa Senators winger Mike Hoffman is just as high as the price for Evander Kane.