When it comes to the Carolina Hurricanes, they just seem to be inevitably brought up, and rightfully so. They once again finished their last home game of a calendar year versus the Montreal Canadiens. Over the last three seasons dating back to the 2021-22 campaign, the Canadiens come to town for the last home game to face the Hurricanes. Plus as always, Carolina comes out on top as the victors once again. Last night on Thursday, Dec. 28, the Hurricanes beat the Canadiens in a 5-2 game that saw a Andrei Svechnikov hat trick. Jesper Fast was also on hat trick watch with two goals of his own.
However, there was one guy who needed to be brought up despite not scoring any goals in the game. Although, he did tally four assists after getting four points in the previous game versus the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, Dec. 27. If one did the math, that is eight points in the last two games combined. Take a bow Sebastian Aho.
Aho is Inevitable
That was no typo. Aho did secure back-to-back four-point nights over his last two games versus the Predators and the Canadiens. Going into the game on Dec. 27, he had 499 points and knocking on the door to get the elusive 500th NHL point in his career. After getting the opening goal of the game, he secured the milestone point on a power-play marker. He ended up getting the aforementioned four points with three assists in the game to get 503 in his career after 552 games.
Related: Importance of Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho Getting 500th Point
Aho followed up that performance with another four-point game, all assists in the win over Montreal as previously mentioned. In a span of six periods, he went from 499 points to 507 with a goal and seven assists. He is the first player since Jeremy Roenick (Nov. 25-26, 1999) to accomplish four-point games in consecutive days. What’s more impressive is that he is the first player ever in Hurricanes/Harford Whalers history to accomplish this feat. That is how elite Aho is right now in that he is setting milestones in probably the best start of his career.
To put in perspective how good Aho’s start to the 2023-24 season is, he has 39 points in 33 games played. That is after missing three games during the West Coast road trip back in October that included stops in California, Seattle, and Colorado. In fewer games played on the Hurricanes, he is producing well over a point per game. He has tallied 14 goals and 25 assists over the 33 games which include the eight points that he accumulated in the last two games.
The player on the Hurricanes who is second in points is Seth Jarvis with 26. He has played in all 36 games for Carolina this season. That is how impressive Aho is this season in that he has played in fewer games but is 13 points ahead of second-place Jarvis in points. Furthermore, he leads the team not only in points but in goals and assists as well. Teuvo Teravainen is second with 13 goals and Jarvis is third with 12. When it comes to assists, Michael Bunting is second with 17 and Martin Necas has 16. Aho is eight assists ahead of Bunting while playing in two fewer games than him. There is no doubt that Aho is on another level this season for the Hurricanes.
Aho Deserving of Personal Trophies
Looking past the team stats, Aho is placing himself in a solid spot to claim some personal hardware this season. When it comes to the entirety of the NHL, he sits 16th in points, tied for 16th in assists, and tied for 34th in goals. In the Hurricanes’ system, he won’t win any Rocket Richard or Art Ross Trophies. However, there is a case for him to win some other personal hardware if he cannot obtain the goal or points trophy. The one that could make sense for him to win is the Ted Lindsay Award.
Related: It’s Time to Call Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho a Superstar
The Ted Lindsay Award is given to the NHL’s outstanding player as selected by the members of the NHL Players Association (NHLPA). However, that could be difficult on its own to win, since this award could turn into a popularity contest or possibly be given to the guy who had an insane point season. Connor McDavid won it after the 2022-23 season while winning the Hart Memorial Trophy. Individual awards are tough to obtain for any Hurricanes player unless they have insane seasons like Jaccob Slavin who won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2020-21 (should have gone back-to-back in 2021-22) and Rod Brind’Amour who won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Nonetheless, Aho is well deserving of a few nominations for some awards after the 2023-24 season. There are 46 games left in the regular season, if he can keep up the insane pace he is on, there is no question that he should be in consideration for a chance to take home a trophy. While the end goal is to win the Stanley Cup, there is no reason why he could not take home an individual award. There is a chance for him to be considered for a Ted Lindsay and even a Hart Memorial Trophy. That might be tough to win but the way he has been playing so far, he cannot be left out of the conversation.
Aho is an Elite Superstar NHLer
There is no doubt that Aho is a superstar player in the NHL. Throw out any argument about 90 or 100-point seasons; that isn’t the end-all, be-all indicator of what makes a player a superstar. He is the quintessential two-way 200-foot player who can be used in all facets of the game. Brind’Amour places him in all situations on even strength and special teams. His compete level is next level and he smashes all doubt that was placed on him after getting drafted 35th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft.
The “stretch” pick for the Hurricanes has shown time and time again that he is the face of the franchise and a well-deserved superstar in the NHL. It is time to award him for being one. It might be tough to win MVP or even outstanding player awards, but it’s time to put respect on his name and reward him with personal trophies. One day Aho will win one and it will showcase how elite he is in the NHL and be the start of many awards given to the Finnish forward in Carolina.
