Man slept on it and still dumbfounded we pulled this off. Rantanen was that guy we all coveted for years but deep down knew we would never make the move to get, and would never pay market value to get in FA.
Welp, not anymore. And after Guentzel you don't make this trade unless you are FULLY comfortable giving him whatever he wants for the full 8 years, and with a rising cap and Aho, Svech, Slavin, and hell even KK locked up long term at reasonable rates and a hell of a lot of cap space coming off the books with guys like Orlov and Burns likely leaving, we are able to do it. If we end up shipping Necas and Drury for 8 years of Rantanen it's an unbelievably good deal.
What a massive move for Tulsky's introduction to the league. This is the biggest move I can even remember is being potentially linked to going back to maybe the Yzerman offer sheet. And it completely obliterates every narrative about how we operate as an organization. You aren't cheap and you aren't frugal if you are trading 2 roster players for Mikko f***ing Rantanen
Oh and Rants is absolutely the player we have always wanted Svech to be, so it would be a great person to help potentially bring that game out of him. And you can't overlook the potential of that happening with a deal like this, which could pay off even moreso down the line.