The Pittsburgh Penguins signed Sebastian Aho, the defenseman, not the forward, to a two-year deal on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed another free agent on Tuesday, keeping unrestricted free agent Sebastian Aho in the Metropolitan Division by signing the former New York Islanders defenseman to a two-year deal with an annual salary of $775,000.
Since debuting in 2017-18, Aho has kept things interesting within the division since he shares the exact name of Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes, except the defenseman is from Sweden and the forward is from Finland.
The Penguins signed Aho, a fifth-round pick (139th overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, who played the last five seasons on Long Island.
He's tallied 11 goals and 50 points and is minus-10 thus far in his career. Aho averages 16:29 in ice time and is more likely to block shots than play physically.
Although Aho hasn't been a regular in the lineup for the past four seasons, playing in a career-high 71 games in 2022-23, he had a solid stint in the AHL with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, getting selected to the AHL All-Star Game in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
While playing in Sweden, he won an SHL championship in 2014 and was the TV-Pucken Most Valuable Player in 2012.
Aho is 28, stands 5-foot-10, and weighs 186 pounds. If there is anything to take away from his signing, he is very familiar with the Penguins' Metropolitan Division rivals.