Forward Mikko Rantanen is on the move once again.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes have traded Rantanen to the Dallas Stars in a deadline deal just six weeks after acquiring the pending free agent from Colorado. The winger has also agreed to an eight-year, $96-million contract extension with the Stars as he re-joins the Central Division.
The full return in this deal continues to trickle in, but according to Friedman the key parts include centre Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks heading to Carolina in exchange for Rantanen.
This marks a stunning move for the Hurricanes, who in January sent forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury plus a trio of draft picks to the Avalanche to acquire Rantanen. Despite Rantanen’s pending UFA status at the time of that trade, Carolina made it pretty clear they didn’t view him a rental, quickly tabling an eight-year offer to lock down the forward long-term. Rantanen, who’d been surprised by the trade that sent him from Colorado to Carolina, expressed a desire to take his time with the decision about whether or not to sign on with the Hurricanes — and time was ultimately not on Carolina’s side as the deadline drew near.
Now, he’s Dallas-bound with a deal in-hand. Per Friedman, the Stars’ trade was contingent on getting the extension completed.
Rantanen, 28, was by far the biggest name in the rumour mill leading up to Friday’s trade deadline. And rightly so — the forward has 70 points (27 goals, 43 assists) in 62 contests this season. Most of that production came while he was still with the Avalanche. He struggled to settle into the Hurricanes’ lineup, registering two goals and four assists in 13 games with Carolina. That stint, of course, was interrupted by the 4 Nations Face-Off, and while his time suiting up for Finland was expected to spark some chemistry with Carolina forward and fellow Finn Sebastian Aho, it didn’t come to fruition.
With Rantanen now added to the lineup, the Stars — sitting second in the West behind Winnipeg — assert their status as a Stanley Cup favourite. They also add to an impressive group of elite Finnish players, with defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell and forwards Roope Hintz on the roster as well as the recent addition of forward Mikael Granlund.
The Stars were expected to be buyers at the deadline not just due to their status as serious Cup contenders but because of their unique salary cap situation. With both Heiskanen and forward Tyler Seguin on long-term injured reserve, Dallas entered trade season with the kind of flexibility that’s rare among top teams. And with a number of expiring forward contracts on the books — Jamie Benn ($9.5M AAV), Granlund ($5M), Matt Duchene ($3M), and Evgenii Dadonov ($2.25M) are all pending UFAs — the Stars are well-positioned take on a big contract like the one Rantanen now holds.
Stankoven, 22, is in just his second NHL season and is now in a great position to grow with the Hurricanes as part of the club’s core moving forward. The centreman has nine goals and 29 points in 59 games this year and an overall career stat line of 15 goals and 43 points in 83 games in parts of two NHL seasons.
