The Habs had offered him a five-year deal, worth $8.460 million per year, plus signing bonuses that amounted to about $38 million. Don Waddell, the Canes' General Manager, matched the Canadiens' offer a few days later.
Waddell joked that he received the Habs offer at 2:40 p.m., and at 2:42 p.m. he made the decision to match the offer. According to him, he thought the contract was going to be much more monstrous. An annual salary of $8.460 million per season for a player like Aho is reasonable. It's the $38 million in signing bonuses that might have scared Waddell, considering the Hurricanes are not considered a big hockey market. However, that was not the case.
If you are Marc Bergevin, would you match such an offer? It's a huge thought, but objectively, we couldn't afford to lose KK that way...