A month after the Carolina Hurricanes made a run to the Eastern Conference Final, I asked President and General Manager Don Waddell if the success the team had in the 2018-19 season changed the perception of the organization and the market, especially as it related to attracting free agents.

"100 percent. We put Raleigh on the map not only locally but nationally," he said. "Players want to be a part of winning organizations. I think we started something, and it's not going to just happen overnight, but I think we're now a destination that people at least want to talk about."

Ryan Dzingel sees that promise, both in the Hurricanes and the city of Raleigh, which led him to ink a two-year, $6.75 million contract with Carolina on Friday.

"I wanted to go somewhere where I believed in the team and believed in the city," he said. "Watching what they did last year, the run they went on and everything I heard about Raleigh and everything else around it, I thought it was a perfect fit for me and my fiancée and my family."

It's officially official.

The Carolina Hurricanes have matched the Montreal Canadiens' offer sheet to Sebastian Aho, re-signing the 21-year-old forward to a five-year, $42.27 million contract.

The deal, which carries an average annual value of $8.454 million, keeps the Canes' All Star in Raleigh through the 2023-24 season.

In the last week of June, Carolina Hurricanes President and General Manager Don Waddell was asked about the increasing chatter of an offer sheet becoming a reality this summer, especially as it related to restricted free agent Sebastian Aho.

"We are in a position that we can and would match any offer that was made to us. We've made that real clear," he said. "There are lots of things I have to worry about in this job, but that's not one I even put one second of thought into."

Around 2:40 p.m. on July 1, the email arrived in Waddell's inbox. Aho was tendered a five-year, $42.27 million offer sheet by the Montreal Canadiens.

Just over 20 minutes later, Waddell addressed the situation from a fourth-floor conference room at PNC Arena.

Visit Hurricanes.com/Draft for the latest news, videos and pick-by-pick information in the 2019 NHL Draft.

The newest members of the Carolina Hurricanes organization get on the ice at Development Camp this week on the heels of the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver.

The Hurricanes had an active draft weekend, making 12 selections over seven rounds, tied the for the second-most picks in a single draft in franchise history.

Here is a collection of photos from the weekend in Vancouver.

The Carolina Hurricanes extended qualifying offers to forwards Sebastian Aho, Clark Bishop, Saku Maenalanen and Brock McGinn, defensemen Trevor Carrick, Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.

In doing so, the Hurricanes retain negotiating rights with these restricted free agents, a group headlined by Aho, who put up career highs in goals (30), assists (53) and points (83) in the 2018-19 season. The Canes' team scoring leader also paced the club in playoff points with 12 (5g, 7a) in 15 games.

The Canes have been in constant contact with Aho and his representation regarding a long-term contract. The two sides met over the weekend in Vancouver and plan to continue discussions this week.

The Carolina Hurricanes' 2019-20 regular-season schedule is hot off the press, and the team will open at home on Thursday, Oct. 3 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Is it October yet? Not quite, but there are exactly 100 days until Opening Night.

2019-20 SCHEDULE | PRINT THE SCHEDULE | SYNC THE SCHEDULE

Here is a breakdown of some of the highlights from the 82-game schedule.

Visit Hurricanes.com/Draft for the latest news, videos and pick-by-pick information in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Final grades are in, and by all accounts, the Carolina Hurricanes assembled one of the league's most impressive collection of picks at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver.

The obvious caveat is that the Hurricanes won't truly know how this draft class measures up for around three to five years, as these players progress through the development cycle in hopes of becoming NHL players. However, early results are very promising and optimistic on the 12 players the Canes added to their prospect pipeline over the weekend.

Visit Hurricanes.com/Draft for the latest news, videos and pick-by-pick information in the 2019 NHL Draft.

VANCOUVER - It was a busy 24 hours in Vancouver for the Carolina Hurricanes, who made 12 selections over seven rounds at the 2019 NHL Draft.

Here's a quick snapshot of each pick with quotes from Hurricanes Director of Player Personnel Darren Yorke, President and General Manager Don Waddell and the prospects themselves.

Visit Hurricanes.com/Draft for the latest news, videos and pick-by-pick information in the 2019 NHL Draft.

VANCOUVER - The Carolina Hurricanes came into the second day of the 2019 NHL Draft with nine picks.

Three trades and a handful of hours later, the Hurricanes left having acquired assets for the future and having made 11 picks on day two and a total of 12 for the weekend, tied for the second-most picks in a single draft in franchise history.

"It's been an interesting day," Hurricanes President and General Manager Don Waddell said. "We felt like we had a lot of guys on our list that we liked, so we wanted to add a few picks as we went along."

"You look at where we had our draft list and the names we came out with, it was some names we might not have expected to get there. They sort of fell to us," Hurricanes Director of Player Personnel Darren Yorke said. "We looked at getting better in terms of our speed and skill. It was a really exciting day."

Visit Hurricanes.com/Draft for the latest news, videos and pick-by-pick information in the 2019 NHL Draft.

VANCOUVER - The Carolina Hurricanes selected Ryan Suzuki with the 28th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Here are some quick facts about the 18-year-old centerman to help you get acquainted with the newest member of the Hurricanes' organization.