The Penguins have signed UFA defenseman Sebastian Aho to a two-year deal carrying the league minimum $775K AAV, per a team announcement. Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News was the first to report the signing Tuesday afternoon.
Aho, 28, isn’t related to the Hurricanes star center of the same name. The left-shot Swede had been a career Islander up to this point, playing in parts of five NHL seasons after being drafted by them in the fifth round in 2017.
He’d wanted to stick around with the Islanders, per Rosner, but either wasn’t offered an extension or felt he could land a better deal elsewhere. While he doesn’t get a ton of cash in his agreement with Pittsburgh, it is a one-way deal and gives him some stability through 2025-26.
Aho is in his prime and isn’t much more than a run-of-the-mill third-pairing defender, but he has proved he can handle regular NHL action. He was a regular on the Isles’ blue line one season ago, recording a career-high 23 points in 71 games with a +9 rating. He’s a solid puck-mover with good defensive instincts who hasn’t seen minor-league action since before the pandemic, frequently giving New York solid depth minutes in his fringe role.
Signing Aho signals a preference for more offensively-inclined depth on defense than Pittsburgh had last year. He, along with recent UFA signing Matt Grzelcyk, has more ceiling and upward mobility than the rotating cast of John Ludvig, Ryan Shea and John St. Ivany that the Pens used in-depth roles last season. For now, he and Grzelcyk project as a potential bottom pairing on opening night. The aforementioned trio will also be in contention for roster spots.
Aho also marks a cheaper replacement with a similar skillset to Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who was left unqualified over the weekend and became a UFA. Joseph, 25, has had similar production to Aho the past two years but was due a slightly richer qualifying offer of $892.5K and was eligible for salary arbitration.