Why didn’t your team for the Rantan act? Tiering NHL -team that could have/should have been in the mixture

There were certainly some Fomo around the NHL on Friday night.

A blockbuster trade went down-a three-way agreement overwritten by Colorado Avalanche, who sent long-time star Mikko Rantan to Carolina Hurricanes and a lot of leaders around the league were caught by guard.

Rantan, one of the best forward in the league-and one of the best players ever traded in the season in the NHL’s pay-cap-era was moved, and they didn’t know about it?

This was a trade by very unique circumstances, which is part of what limited the number of volunteers.

The Rantan is a pending unlimited free agent. He has a huge contract ($ 9.25 million cap hit) and a limited clause without trading, which means nine of the NHL’s other 30 teams were off the table from the start.

And avalanche is still trying to win this season so they needed a top-line capable player back-in this case Martin Necas-to fill the Rantan’s void at least to some extent.

These complications are the reason why there were at least not many teams in the mixture. According to The athletic‘S Pierre Lebrun, “It was a very, very small list of teams.” It may have been just one.

But should it be so? Was there a potential fit for the Rantan elsewhere if more teams decided to become creative? What if the AVs had opened this to a good old -fashioned bidding war?

These are the questions asked by many fan bases in the wake of trade. And now I will try to answer them as best I can by grouping the 30 other teams into levels regarding the middle season’s blockbuster that shook the NHL.

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Challengers that don’t really fit well

Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning

In most of these cases, Cap space is tight and these teams have a lot of their stars locked in place, especially on the wing. These teams also sometimes have players on their guards, they need to think about signing for next season, like Evan Bouchard with Oilers.

A skilled 28-year-old wings like Rantanen, who potentially want the biggest contract in the league, is not an easy fit for any of these guards-not without any serious surgery, which would have been difficult 50-term matches this season.

Nor do I really see these six teams as likely to bid on the Rantan in the high season, although the salary rack is interconnected more than 10 percent to $ 97 million, more teams end up for the bidding war.

But that’s my reading about their situations at the moment.

Other teams that are not a good fit

Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, St. Louis Blues

I hate to disappoint 12 fan bases at once here, but it’s important to remember that what Rantan wants here is the key. He has a lot of power when it comes to what is next.

Several of these teams to start are likely to be on his list without trade. And even for those who are not, it would not have made sense to them to act for a star player who does not intend to re -sign there, considering the assets they had to give Colorado to get him.

Many of these teams are tight for the hood, both this season and next. And they lack the kind of rising star in his prime minister (like NECAs) to send the other way in an appointment.

We are more than five months from the free agency and things can certainly change, but my prediction here in late January is that these teams do not appear as front runners of the Rantan in the summer-proposed that he does not sign in Carolina and Make it to free agency.

Better as an offseason signature

Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Utah Hockey Club

Ok, now we get into the fun part of this theoretical exercise. Who could make a legitimate game for the Rantan if you assume one of NHL’s biggest contracts while offering him a chance to win and/or a desirable place?

Calgary, Columbus and Montreal all fit the bill as a team with significant cap space. They have all had surprisingly strong seasons and are possibly looking to make a bold step to speed up their guard list Retools/Rebuilds.

Given that they all have a shot at doing the playoffs now and have some exciting young players on the guard schedule, can you imagine how much to add one of the top whistles in the league could help with the same season?

Chicago, meanwhile, I include because speech continues around the league that the Blackhawks intend to be very aggressive during the high season. Despite all that loses there, it is a Marquee, original six franchise in a large city that is a draw for players to live in.

I won’t call it likely, but maybe Chicago finds a way to significantly surpass everyone else to get something done? (The size of the contract will definitely be important here, considering how big a stumble block it was with AVS.)

Utah drowns in the same way in Cap Plads and has a positive buzz around it as a new market with a charismatic owner and some promising young talent. Again, it’s probably not a front runner, but don’t be surprised if Utah tries to take some big swings during the high season.

As for Maple Leafs, no, I’m not only included them “To click.” With two of the highest paid players in the league who are about to become UFAs in Toronto, if either Mitch Marner or John Tavare’s situation goes sideways and they do not sign there, the leaves will suddenly have a lot of cap space and a gaping hole front to fill.

And as we know, they don’t mind going big on Cap hits from time to time.

Being a perennial challenger in a market and the capable of offering a castle along with Auston Matthews are also decent features.

Could it have worked as a trading partner in the season?

Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets

This was by far the most difficult category to fill in considering all the variables that play. That said, I went with these six teams as the most likely opportunities for Colorado to tackle, had conversations with Carolina broken down last week.

Vancouver and Rangers are obvious passes considering their battles on the ice and the in -depth trade interviews they have had with each other (and other partners). Canucks and Hurricanes were deep in conversations about Elias Pettersson, for example, so maybe there was a kind of lathe that could have been working out there.

Both markets have had a recent success on the ice and are typically desirable places for UFAs to go to, so a clause without trade would probably not be a problem.

Could they be able to afford him under the hood this season? In some cases it may have taken double storage, but again we are talking about teams being as aggressive and creative as Carolina did.

Minnesota, Washington and Winnipeg have been three of the league’s top teams (currently ranked ninth, first and second in the overall NHL placement) and have solid cap situations beyond this season, to the point that they can accommodate a massive rantan – contract if they are so choose.

They also have enough young talent that they could potentially give up a necas-like player to Colorado to facilitate an appointment with some maneuver involved.

For example, could anyone like Nikolaj Ehlers have made sense in a trade like this?

Is this the most sexy markets in the league for a UFA to sign in the long term? Not necessarily. But few things are a better draw than to fight after a championship, and all three franchises seem to do so in the spring and the next few years.

And the golden knights? They make bats-bleep movements, nobody thinks they can pull off every year, so they hear here as much as anyone.

That said, Avalanche is still trying to win this season and to move the Rantan to a colleague Western Conference competitor could make their way more difficult.

So it would be a big leg up for rangers and capitals over the other teams in this group in terms of trying to get a trade in the season.

Which in turn shows how few real volunteers were likely to be for a deal like this.

(Photo by Morgan Rielly and Mikko Rantanen: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)