Brind'Amour: Aho will end career as 'best player that's played' for Canes
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour believes star center Sebastian Aho will leave quite the legacy behind in Carolina.
"He's going to be the franchise leader in everything when it's all said and done, and he should be," the bench boss said Wednesday. "He's going to be the best player that's played here."
Aho already ranks third in the organization's record books in goals, assists, and points, but the 27-year-old is quite a ways away from catching Hall of Famer Ron Francis for the No. 1 spot in all three categories:
| Rank | Player | Goals | Assists | Points | GP | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ron Francis | 382 | 793 | 1175 | 1186 | 0.99 |
| 2 | Eric Staal | 322 | 453 | 775 | 909 | 0.85 |
| 3 | Sebastian Aho | 259 | 315 | 574 | 616 | 0.93 |
Aho has already taken over one team record, however. His third-period goal during Wednesday's 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers propelled him past Francis for the most game-winners in franchise history:
| Rank | Player | GWG |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Aho | 58 |
| 2 | Ron Francis | 57 |
| 3 | Eric Staal | 47 |
| 4 | Jeff O'Neill | 38 |
| 5 | Kevin Dineen | 37 |
"Having my name next to that kind of legend and in the same sentence is special," Aho said of surpassing Francis.
"Obviously, everyone knows what he did for the game and how good of a player he was. It probably means I've done something right to be able to at least be in the same sentence as that guy. Hopefully a lot, lot more to come."
Although Aho now has 17 points in 18 games following Wednesday's match, he's only scored five times after netting 37 goals in 2021-22 and 36 in each of the past two campaigns. Part of the issue is he owns a 10.4 shooting percentage while ranking second on the Hurricanes with 48 shots.
However, Brind'Amour isn't concerned.
"It's not just about scoring, and when you're not scoring ... you've gotta be doing the other things," the coach said. "And he does. Hopefully (Wednesday's goal) jumpstarts him and gets that department going."
A franchise legend in his own right, Brind'Amour amassed 174 goals and 473 points in 694 contests for Carolina.
The Hurricanes entered Thursday's slate in the top spot of the Eastern Conference with a 14-4-0 record and .778 points percentage. They'll take on the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. ET.