Hurricanes go all-in, Avalanche look ahead: Mikko Rantanen heads to Carolina

If Fortune favors The Bold, a Stanley Cup Final with the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche is in the works.

The blockbuster trade headlined by Mikko Rantanen going from the Avalanche to the Hurricanes was a bold move by both clubs, although it will send the rest of the league into a frenzy sooner than expected.

To wrap up what was a three-team deal, the Avalanche dealt Rantanen—a two-time 100-point player who has netted 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games this season—to the Hurricanes via the Chicago Blackhawks.

Chicago also sent pending unrestricted free agent left wing Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes, keeping half of Rantanen’s salary and receiving a third-round pick—which happened to be their own pick that had been dealt to Carolina at last year’s draft.

The Avalanche receive a pair of forwards in Martin Necas, capable of skating on the club’s top two lines, and Jack Drury, plus a 2025 second-round pick and 2026 fourth-round pick.

By acquiring Rantanen, a 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent likely to become the highest paid winger in the league, the Hurricanes paid a steep price. However, the long-standing adage of a hockey trade is that the winning team is the one that receives the best player, and Rantanen is arguably the best player in the deal.

That’s only part of Carolina’s bold reasoning. While he was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round in five of the last six seasons, the Hurricanes have been bewitched far too often by a lack of an offensive game-breaker. Rantanen can fill that void, and if the Hurricanes could leaf him to a contract extension, he will provide that ability for many years.

That said, the Avalanche deserve credit for making a big move. Trading Rantanen likely puts a crimp in their playoff hopes, but at his salary, anything but pricing him out of Denver — where Mackinnon’s contract is worth $12.6 million per Season seems to be the team’s ceiling – was it better to move Rantanen instead of losing him for nothing in the summer.

Also, don’t be shocked if Colorado GM Chris MacFarland has a subsequent move or two in the works to bolster his club.

Meanwhile, NECAS, 26, could potentially be the much-needed second line Colorado needs, although he’s more likely to be a winger alongside superstar Nathan Mackinnon.

Drury, 24, is a solid third- or fourth-line forward who is well off the eight-goal, 27-point season he posted in 2023-24.

As easy as it is to paralyze the avalanche, it will be worth seeing what comes down the pike. With a log of salary figures and an extra couple of draft picks, MacFarland has the ability to find the second line center he has long wanted.

Right now, the Vancouver Canucks look ready to move on from either Elias Pettersson or JT Miller, and both would be a perfect fit for the Avalanche. That said, there are other troops who would love to make their pitch for one of these centers.

The March 7 trade deadline is barely six weeks away. A blockbuster to start the festivities so far in advance is a great way to whet the appetite.