Avalanche Trade Mikko Rantanen To The Hurricanes In Three-Team Deal
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports the Colorado Avalanche have traded forward Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal involving the Chicago Blackhawks.
According to Seravalli, the Blackhawks are sending Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes. Other reports suggest Martin Necas will be heading to the Avalanche.
Colorado Avalanche trade Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL Images).
Details to follow…
**UPDATE**
The trade is as follows:
Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes.
Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-rounder from the Hurricanes to the Avalanche.
A third-round pick going to the Blackhawks, who retain half of Rantanen’s $9.25 million cap hit. They retained no portion of Hall’s cap hit.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’ll take a lot to top this blockbuster as the biggest trade of 2024-25, perhaps even of the entire calendar year of 2025, and we’re only just over three weeks into the new year.
This move signals the Hurricanes are going for it this season. Rantanen is one of the league’s elite scorers, on pace for his third straight 100-point campaign with 64 points in 49 games. He was also a Stanley Cup champion with the Avalanche in 2022 and his experience should prove helpful.
Hall is a former winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy (2018). His best seasons are behind him but he’s still a well-respected playmaking winger. He’s going from one of the league’s worst clubs to one of the better ones as his presence also bolsters the Hurricanes’ offense.
It’s been reported that Rantanen informed Avalanche management of his intention to test the free-agent market in July. Rather than stick with him as an own rental for one last playoff run, the Avs opted to ship him out for Necas and Drury. It remains to be seen if the Hurricanes will attempt to re-sign him before July 1.
Necas is a scoring forward who can play center or wing. The 26-year-old’s production cooled a bit following a hot start but he’s 12th among this season’s leading scorers with 55 points in 49 games, putting the 26-year-old on pace to exceed his career-high 71 points in 2022-23. He’s in the first season of a two-year deal with an average annual value of $6.5 million.
Drury, 24, saw checking-line duty with the Hurricanes. He missed 10 games with an injury hand and has nine points in 39 games after reaching 27 points in 74 games last season.
How Necas and Drury fit in with their new club will be interesting. The deal also freed up cap space for the Avalanche, creating speculation they’re not done making moves.
The Blackhawks used their cap space to facilitate this deal and move Hall to a playoff contender. In return, they received the 2025 third-round they traded to the Hurricanes last year.
this is a fun deal friday
Kotkaniemi Is also involved. Chicken I guess?
Chicago! Lol not chicken
Drury also heading to Colorado, not Kotkaniemi.
Chicago holds 50% on Rantanen for a 3rd rounder? Yikes!
And Hall, so Hall and 50% of Rantanens cap hit for a 3rd, that was cheap. Is the value of cap space going down?
Yeah, if I’m Chicago I’m probably wondering why I couldn’t get a second. And if I’m Colorado, maybe hold out for a first, or two seconds rather than a second and a fourth. Necas has been playing well and all, but man, when you’re giving up a superstar top-five forward in the league…
Chicago is essentially getting a 3rd for Hall and a little cap space. Their pro-rated portion of Rantanen’s salary is $1.86 million. Hall will be a UFA, so Carolina is taking on the remaining $2.195 million. Chicago’s payroll will drop by a few hundred thousand.
I’m curious what Colorado plans to do with Necas. If he’s more of a natural center, that would make me wonder if Mittelstadt is also on the way out.
Wow Carolina is going for it..
Guentzel last year
Miko. Taylor hall this year
I don’t think colorado is done?
Considering their pending free agency situation – 11 UFAs and not one RFA -I would bet they’re not done.
Forwards: Rantanen; Hall, Roslovic; Fest; R obinson, Jaaska, Jost
Defense: Orlov; Burns; Stillman
Goal: Andersen
While they are likely thinking hard and long about re-upping Rantanen – and with that much expiring cap, coupled with the rise in the cap ceiling – that should present no problem, I doubt all 11 are in their long-term plans
Be interesting to see how their lines form tonight on the Island.
Hell of a trade for Canes. NB ales me wonder if Landeskog is closer than they are saying
Also think Miko is going for 14 per like Leon and that was why he got moved
The total for expiring UFA cap hits is $35,605,000 and with the cap rise estimated to be at least $4.5, that gives them $40,115,000 to sort things out – and perhaps be a big player in the upcoming “free agent frenzy.”
Weeks has hinted a bigger trade is coming outta Pittsburgh and Seravalli Tweeted: “And… not sure how to process yet, but impeccable source said that this Rantanen deal was not the biggest thing on the table in the last 48 hours.”
Crosby??????
Necas is an all world talent. He has not played 100 minutes in his Hurricanes career as a center. Necas is an offensive dynamo and is helpless on defense most games.
And therein was the problem. The Hurricanes are a somewhat soft team in the playoffs, with high-end talent that can get nullified. Necas is the poster child. No knock against him, but that’s simply not his game and he disappears in the playoffs.
Rantanen is a move that instantly makes the team more difficult to play against in the playoffs.
Is there a downside risk that Necas becomes a perennial all-star? Yes, absolutely. But I think this is a move you make 10 times out of 10. And that’s even assuming Rantanen doesn’t re-sign.
Colorado fans will look back at this trade and realize they made out like bandits.
Chicago bought a 3rd round pick for essentially $1 million (diff between Hall and 50% Rantanen)
Carolina might work this season, but unable to resign these UFAs