Confirmed with Link: [Col/Chi/Car] Rantanen (50% by Chicago), Hall, Nils Juntorp to Car - Drury, Necas, 2nd, 4th to Avs, 3rd round pick to Chicago

[hblueridgegal]

https://puckpedia.com/news/rantanen-contract-schwartz

I wonder why he left the Canes?

Aaron Schwartz, who served as the Carolina Hurricanes' Director of Hockey Operations from 2021 to 2025, managing salary cap strategy, contract negotiations, arbitration, scouting, and AHL affiliate staffing.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

DUNDON LOWBALLED HIM!>!>!<!>!<!

 

[Joe McGrath]

https://puckpedia.com/news/rantanen-contract-schwartz

I wonder why he left the Canes?

Aaron Schwartz, who served as the Carolina Hurricanes' Director of Hockey Operations from 2021 to 2025, managing salary cap strategy, contract negotiations, arbitration, scouting, and AHL affiliate staffing.

I’m not going to discredit this guy in any way- but he just wrote a whole bunch of words and explanation as a capologist to come up with a projection that I texted my buddy right after the trade happened. (12.5x8 and I’d go as high as 13).

 

[bleedgreen]

Does anyone find it interesting that he’s kept his agent? If he was really totally blindsided by the trade as a result of a failed negotiation with CO? I think the agent is the wildcard in this situation as well.

I can’t see the Canes trading him at the TDL even if they suspect he won’t stay. I say this based on Tulsky’s “we like to roll the dice and only sometimes win” comments when the trade occurred. They still will have received some short term gains until season’s end. I noticed the ticket prices bumped up after the signing after lagging for a while. Cleaning up the mess with fans won’t be fun if he bounces without a trophy though.

Well he wasn’t blindsided. There was an Aho interview where Aho said he talked to Rants a couple of days before to ask if a trade was possible, and Rants said he’d just got out of a meeting with his agent and said yes to Aho. As in a trade is possible. Not to mention he’s asking asking for the moon so a trade is always possible anyways, they knew that. It sounds to me like there was no way Rants was actually surprised he was traded, other than maybe getting traded to us.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

I am still guessing he gets signed before the deadline, but if not would not surprise me if he’s flipped in a 3 way trade with to bring in a center or RD from a rebuilding team.

 

[bleedgreen]

I’m not going to discredit this guy in any way- but he just wrote a whole bunch of words and explanation as a capologist to come up with a projection that I texted my buddy right after the trade happened. (12.5x8 and I’d go as high as 13).

Same dude wrote an article about the trade and talked about how the Necas contract was a mutual agreement to be trade friendly. Pretty interesting. I feel safe thinking there was an official trade request made at some point.

 

[baconandbread]

Same dude wrote an article about the trade and talked about how the Necas contract was a mutual agreement to be trade friendly. Pretty interesting. I feel safe thinking there was an official trade request made at some point.

There was a Tulsky interview that mentioned it as well. I think you are absolutely correct about this, not to mention that we would have really not liked the return had we waited until next season/summer

 

[Rad ChaLose]

Well he wasn’t blindsided. There was an Aho interview where Aho said he talked to Rants a couple of days before to ask if a trade was possible, and Rants said he’d just got out of a meeting with his agent and said yes to Aho. As in a trade is possible. Not to mention he’s asking asking for the moon so a trade is always possible anyways, they knew that. It sounds to me like there was no way Rants was actually surprised he was traded, other than maybe getting traded to us.

I keep thinking about this interview compared with Rants’ responses to American media after the trade. The public’s reaction after the trade was “Rantanen was completely blindsided” but in the Finnish interview it’s stated he chatted with Aho right after meeting with his agent and knew it was a possibility.

I’m inclined to believe the Finnish interview more than his comments to American reporters. I interpret this as: Rantanen played hardball with Colorado realizing he opened himself up to a trade, perhaps after chatting with his agent and/or the team knew Colorado was in discussion with Carolina for a potential trade if negotiations stalled (Hence the convo with Aho). Didn’t think Colorado would follow through with a trade, and oops, they did.

Surprised they actually traded him (realizing it was a possibility due to the nature of the negotiations) =/= blindsided he was traded

 

[User13452]

Everyone assumes he might get dealt at the deadline but why would another team give up assets unless it’s a sign and trade doesn’t make sense that’s the only way he’s getting moved

 

[WreckingCrew]

Everyone assumes he might get dealt at the deadline but why would another team give up assets unless it’s a sign and trade doesn’t make sense that’s the only way he’s getting moved

Because Rantanen @ 25% (75% retention) would be an insane playoff rental to boost a contender

 

[bleedgreen]

I keep thinking about this interview compared with Rants’ responses to American media after the trade. The public’s reaction after the trade was “Rantanen was completely blindsided” but in the Finnish interview it’s stated he chatted with Aho right after meeting with his agent and knew it was a possibility.

I’m inclined to believe the Finnish interview more than his comments to American reporters. I interpret this as: Rantanen played hardball with Colorado realizing he opened himself up to a trade, perhaps after chatting with his agent and/or the team knew Colorado was in discussion with Carolina for a potential trade if negotiations stalled (Hence the convo with Aho). Didn’t think Colorado would follow through with a trade, and oops, they did.

Surprised they actually traded him (realizing it was a possibility due to the nature of the negotiations) =/= blindsided he was traded

I think he either played things up a little to our media because there was such a reaction and maybe he wanted the Avs to feel the media sting a bit, or what he said was just lost in translation and he didn’t mean the way it was pushed out to us. Either way I agree, I believe Aho for the obvious reason of he wouldn’t lie about something so stupid to lie about.

 

[bleedgreen]

Everyone assumes he might get dealt at the deadline but why would another team give up assets unless it’s a sign and trade doesn’t make sense that’s the only way he’s getting moved

I highly doubt any other team is going to pay us the way we paid the Avs. Even if we retain 50%. He’s a playoff rental. A first and a half decent prospect/younger roster player is the usual cost. Add or subtract a little more as needed. That would be the normal price. If we get a real good young player back then I’m impressed with our patent keeper.

We’re not getting a Necas back.

 

[User13452]

Because Rantanen @ 25% (75% retention) would be an insane playoff rental to boost a contender

Yea but those teams aren’t giving up roster players which the canes would want back.

 

[Borsig]

Yeah sign or bust.

How close is he to Aho and does that even matter?

 

[CanesUltimate11]

Yeah sign or bust.

How close is he to Aho and does that even matter?

Apparently they are very good friends. Not sure it makes a huge difference but knowing you'd be playing with Aho for the life of the contract can't hurt I'd imagine.

 

[Identity404]

I’ve always been a big Necas fan, and didn’t want to trade him, but it was painfully obvious that Necas was never going to extend here (It also wouldn’t shock me to see Necas put up 100+ points next year and price himself out of Colorado as well).

If we kept Necas we would most likely be in other situation this summer where we would be looking to trade him to some type of assets before he walks. To me those types of summer deal seem to fetch less that trade deadline deals because teams are more certain about pushing all of their chips in.

I’m ok trading Rantanen if we have the idea that the chance to sign him is small. That way I think we would likely still end up with similar assets as we would if we kept Necas until the offseason, we basically would have paid Drury and a 2nd for the opportunity to sign Rantanen.

 

[spockBokk]

IF, they trade Rantanen, Dallas or Vegas seem like the most likely destinations imo.

I could see then being interested in Marchment + a 1st/high end prospect/young roster player. DAL already traded their 2025 1st for Granlund.

No idea what Vegas would give up, seems like they’ve already traded their 1sts for the next decade.

I still don’t think they actually end up dealing him, but definitely see it as a possibility. I’d certainly deal him if he doesn’t sign by 3/7, but that’s me.

 

[Svechhammer]

IF, they trade Rantanen, Dallas or Vegas seem like the most likely destinations imo.

I could see then being interested in Marchment + a 1st/high end prospect/young roster player. DAL already traded their 2025 1st for Granlund.

No idea what Vegas would give up, seems like they’ve already traded their 1sts for the next decade.

I still don’t think they actually end up dealing him, but definitely see it as a possibility. I’d certainly deal him if he doesn’t sign by 3/7, but that’s me.

As I told you in the other thread, there is no reason to even have this discussion right now. In Tulsky's words, they want Rantanen to get situated and comfortable in Raleigh before even opening up contract negotiations with him, and because of the road trip and the 4 Nations, he's spent about 3 days in a Raleigh apartment since he was traded. By our own words, we aren't beginning to negotiate an extension, yet, so all of this speculation about trading him is just a few hacks pulling shit out of their ass for page clicks, and then people like Friedman speculation on those reports because its a big name player.

For now, there's no reason to go through this. This is just unnecessary noise very much akin to Montreal fans salivating over doing something like Offer Sheeting Jarvis or signing Aho because he really wants to play there, or a pickem of players who we are going to offload because Dundon is too cheap to play them. Its all stemming from a fantasy that doesn't exist.

 

[spockBokk]

As I told you in the other thread, there is no reason to even have this discussion right now. In Tulsky's words, they want Rantanen to get situated and comfortable in Raleigh before even opening up contract negotiations with him, and because of the road trip and the 4 Nations, he's spent about 3 days in a Raleigh apartment since he was traded. By our own words, we aren't beginning to negotiate an extension, yet, so all of this speculation about trading him is just a few hacks pulling shit out of their ass for page clicks, and then people like Friedman speculation on those reports because its a big name player.

For now, there's no reason to go through this. This is just unnecessary noise very much akin to Montreal fans salivating over doing something like Offer Sheeting Jarvis or signing Aho because he really wants to play there, or a pickem of players who we are going to offload because Dundon is too cheap to play them. Its all stemming from a fantasy that doesn't exist.

Plenty of reason to go through it, it’s a possibility.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Plenty of reason to go through it, it’s a possibility.

plenty of reasons, as @Svechhammer laid out, for most here to have no interest in going through it with you

 

[Wolfpuck]

Even if Rantanen isn’t re-signed by the deadline, why trade him for a lesser return and hurt the roster? What message does that send to the rest of the players and the fans?

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Alright, I know Twitter as a general subject is a politically charged minefield these days.

But, compared to a ChatGPT or anything else, Grok actually being caught up with current events is highly fascinating. For certain circumstances, perhaps the best tool available.

E.g. this is the analysis from the prompt “How do you think the saga with Mikko Rantanen and the Carolina Hurricanes will end?” Factually, this alone is more precise than anything I’ve ever gotten from the other models I’ve ever “talked” to. Like, truly, bafflingly precise. Kinda fun!

Predicting the outcome of the Mikko Rantanen saga with the Carolina Hurricanes involves weighing several factors based on his performance, the team’s strategy, and the broader NHL landscape as of February 21, 2025. Rantanen, acquired in a blockbuster three-team trade on January 24, 2025, from the Colorado Avalanche, is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) at the end of this season. His current stint with the Hurricanes has been underwhelming—only one goal and one assist in six games—compared to his stellar 66 points (26 goals, 40 assists) in 55 games this season overall. This slow start, combined with his looming free agency, creates a complex situation for Carolina.
One possibility is that the Hurricanes successfully extend Rantanen before the March 7, 2025, trade deadline. Carolina’s GM, Eric Tulsky, has emphasized the team’s financial flexibility, with roughly $40 million in projected cap space for the 2025-26 season (assuming a $97 million cap ceiling). This allows them to offer Rantanen a lucrative deal—potentially in the $12.5–14 million AAV range, benchmarked against contracts like William Nylander’s (8 years, $11.5M AAV) or Leon Draisaitl’s (8 years, $14M AAV)—while leveraging the advantage of an eighth year that other teams can’t offer in free agency. The presence of Finnish teammate Sebastian Aho could also be a draw, easing Rantanen’s transition and making Carolina a comfortable long-term fit. If he regains his form and meshes with the Hurricanes’ possession-heavy, net-front style, this could solidify his commitment, turning the trade into a home run for Carolina.
However, there’s a flip side. Rantanen’s lackluster production so far has sparked doubts about his fit in Rod Brind’Amour’s system, which prioritizes structure over individual flair. Some speculate he thrived in Colorado alongside Nathan MacKinnon, raising questions about whether he can be a standalone star. If extension talks stall—perhaps because Rantanen seeks a payday or situation Carolina can’t match—the Hurricanes might consider trading him before the deadline. Reports from insiders like Elliotte Friedman and Nick Kypreos suggest Carolina could flip him if no deal is reached, aiming to recoup assets rather than risk losing him for nothing, as they did with Jake Guentzel last year. Teams like the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, or Vegas Golden Knights, hungry for scoring depth, might jump in, though Carolina’s asking price (likely a first-rounder and a top prospect) could complicate talks.
A third scenario is that Rantanen stays through the season but walks in free agency. This would be a disaster for Carolina, having traded Martin Necas (who’s thriving in Colorado) and Jack Drury for what amounts to a rental. The Hurricanes’ fanbase is already jittery, and losing Rantanen without a playoff breakthrough could sour Tulsky’s bold gamble. Yet, if he heats up and helps Carolina finally break their postseason scoring woes—where they’ve historically dipped from 3.28 to 2.98 goals per game since 2020-21—it might still justify the move, even if he departs.
My gut says it’s a coin toss between an extension and a trade. Carolina’s cap situation and Rantanen’s playoff pedigree (1.25 points per game, sixth all-time among players with 35+ games) make a compelling case for him staying, but his slow adjustment and the NHL’s unpredictable market—where contenders might overpay in July—could push him elsewhere. If I had to bet, I’d lean slightly toward Carolina trading him by March 7 if no extension is in sight, prioritizing asset recovery over a risky playoff run. The saga’s resolution hinges on Rantanen’s next few weeks on the ice and behind closed doors. What do you think—does he stay, or is he on the move again?

 

[AD Skinner]

If he walks after this year is that really a disaster though? I mean it’s obviously not ideal but they’re going to have boatloads of cap to spend, whether it’s on him or someone else.

 

[MinJaBen]

If he walks after this year is that really a disaster though? I mean it’s obviously not ideal but they’re going to have boatloads of cap to spend, whether it’s on him or someone else.

If he walks, and let's say Marner resigns in Leaf-land, who are we spending this boat load of cap on? As we've seen with goalies, most of the high level talent we really want/need get resigned before the free agency period opens, leaving us with a lot of cap to spend on middle of the lineup guys. We don't really need more of those.

 

[Derailed75]

If he walks, and let's say Marner resigns in Leaf-land, who are we spending this boat load of cap on? As we've seen with goalies, most of the high level talent we really want/need get resigned before the free agency period opens, leaving us with a lot of cap to spend on middle of the lineup guys. We don't really need more of those.

Quite a ways off to speculate but just as an example. Lets say Boston decides to rebuild a sign and trade for Pasta. Maybe not Pasta but pick and of the teams that are aging out and could use some assets to rebuild with and cap space to do so.
Just off the top of my head
If Ovie breaks the record does he retire and if so what do the Caps do moving forward
Sid probably never leaves the Pens but if they need to rebuild would they keep Malkin
Above mentions of Boston there's some other pieces there
The Wings seem to be on the way up but if they falter how about Larkin
The Predators might decide they made a huge mistake and want to jettison a few guys
What if the Sens get tired of almost being in the playoffs and we can pry Brady T from them.

We can trade and spend money, not all moves have to be FA.