The Carolina Hurricanes found themselves getting back on track on Thursday night. For Sebastian Aho, it was a game to remember.
Carolina’s 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders was impressive. Aho chipped in with two assists and finished the game with a plus-3.
That may not have seemed like much, but it was a game for the record books. It was the 80th time Aho logged a multi-assist game.
Per Peter Dewar and Walt Ruff of Hurricanes.com, “Aho’s 80th career multi-assist game passed Eric Staal for second-most in franchise history behind Ron Francis (163).”
But that wasn’t all.
Dewar and Ruff also wrote that, “Thursday’s effort also marked Aho’s 187th career multi-point game, once again surpassing Eric Staal for second place on the franchise’s all-time list behind Ron Francis (297).”
Pretty impressive for a single night, especially with Eric Staal factored into the equation. It further solidifies Aho as one of the Hurricanes’ franchise greats. And for a team that is looking to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions, the sense of urgency for Aho to snag multi-goal and multi-point games is even higher.
Aho now has 734 points, 319 goals, and 415 assists in 774 career games. With 23 points and nine goals in 18 games this season, Aho is on an 84-game pace for a career-best 107 points. His previous career-high was 89 points and 36 goals in 78 games in 2023-24.
Aho Likely Isn’t Finished Passing Hurricanes Legends This Season
Eric Staal was part of that first Carolina Hurricanes team to hoist the Cup in 2006. He spent 12 seasons in Raleigh, appearing in 909 games and ending his career in Carolina with 775 points and 322 goals.
Aho will almost certainly surpass Staal in goals scored in the near future — there is a good chance that will be the case by the end of November. He is also 41 points away from tying Staal, and 42 away from passing him.
Ron Francis spent two stints with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes. The first with the Whalers from 1981-82 until 1990-91. He returned to the franchise in 1998-99 when they became known as the Hurricanes and stayed until 2003-04.
Aho is still a few good seasons from passing Francis’ points total of 1,175, which he reached in 1,186 games with the Whalers/Hurricanes. He also notched 382 goals and 793 assists. Keep an eye on both Francis’ and Staal’s numbers as Aho continues to chase legends and reach franchise milestones.
Aho Is Quietly Turning Into A Franchise Legend
Aho is one of the faces of this Carolina Hurricanes team. He has passed the point-per-game mark in four of his 10 full seasons with the Hurricanes and has a Stanley Cup on his resume.
That said, Aho has never won a major award, despite appearing in three All-Star Games and being part of Team Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, helping them snag a Bronze Medal. Aho has top-10 finishes for the Hart and Selke Awards, and that may wind up being the case again this season should he keep performing at a legendary rate.
The more Aho passes franchise legends in these major categories, the more his own legend will grow in Hurricanes history. That trend is showing no signs of slowing down.
Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho Passes Franchise Legend In Two Major Categories