The Carolina Hurricanes made a huge signing, locking in top center Sebastian Aho to an eight-year extension that begins in 2024-25.

The Carolina Hurricanes took care of some significant business on Wednesday, signing forward Sebastian Aho to an eight-year contract extension worth $9.75 million per year.

Aho's extension will begin in 2024-25 and run through the 2031-32 NHL season. The 26-year-old currently has one year remaining on a five-year contract worth about $8.46 million per year.

The new deal includes a full no-move clause and no-trade clause for the first seven years, while the eighth year includes a 15-team no-trade clause, according to PuckPedia.

“Sebastian has developed into one of the best two-way centers in hockey,” Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said in a release. “He’s a tremendous leader on and off the ice who sets a great example for our younger players. We’re grateful that he’s decided to stay in Carolina for the foreseeable future.”

Last season, Aho led the Hurricanes in goals with 36 and added 31 assists for 67 points in 75 games. He also averaged the most ice time per game among Canes forwards, with 19:30 per game.

Aho's ice time increased to 20:27 per game in the playoffs as he tied for the team lead in points, with 12 in 15 contests. The Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference final before losing to the Florida Panthers in four games. 

Since being drafted 35th overall by Carolina in 2015, the Rauma, Finland, native has played 520 career regular-season games, with 218 goals and 250 assists for 468 points during that time. In 63 career playoff games, Aho has 23 goals and 58 points.

This is a crucial extension for the Hurricanes, who now have their No. 1 center on the books through to a new decade on the expectation the salary cap will continue to rise. While long-term contracts always have a certain level of risk on whether the player will keep up their performance and even improve, Aho's just entering his prime and has been consistently above or near a point-per-game pace since his sophomore campaign six seasons ago.

The Hurricanes also have right winger Andrei Svechnikov under contract through 2028-29 and forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi signed through 2029-30. With captain Jordan Staal and 24-year-old netminder Pyotr Kochetkov signed through 2026-27 as well, Carolina is locking in its core to extend its Cup contention window as long as it can.