The Carolina Hurricanes are on the verge of locking up their best player in Sebastian Aho to a long-term contract, general manager Don Waddell told NHL.com on Thursday.

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“We're working on it, getting close,” Waddell said, according to Tom Gulitti. “Not there yet, but we are talking on a regular basis, almost daily, so I'm hoping that we can get this to the finish line here in the next week or so.”

The 25-year-old Aho was drafted with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, and has quickly become a fan favorite in Raleigh. He led the team in goals last season for the sixth straight year, and recorded a respectable 67 points in 75 regular season contests.

He currently has one year remaining on the five-year, $42.27 million contract he signed back in the summer of 2019, when the Canes matched an offer sheet given to the then-restricted free agent by the Montreal Canadiens.

Without a contract, the Finn will be set for unrestricted free agency when his contract expires.

“He wants to be a Hurricane player for life,” Waddell explained, per Gulitti. “What happened four years ago now [with the offer sheet], that's water under the bridge. We made a decision to match the offer sheet and that was the last time we talked about it and now after having him here for as many years as we have, he wants to be a Carolina Hurricane.”

Aho has also been great for his team in the postseason, leading the team with five goals and 12 points in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help Carolina reach the Eastern Conference Final in 2023.

Although they were swept by the Florida Panthers in the final four, the Hurricanes figure to be even better next year with free agents Michael Bunting and Dmitry Orlov in the fold, and Andrei Svechnikov set to be healthy after a devastating injury last season.

But Sebastian Aho is undoubtedly the leader of the squad; he ranks fifth in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history with 218 goals and 468 points, and sixth in assists with 250 over 520 regular-season contests.

He's played seven full seasons with the Hurricanes, and the way talks are progressing, it looks like he'll be spending a lot more time in Carolina.