The Carolina Hurricanes this past Friday shocked the sports world by acquiring forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three team trade. The Hurricanes sent Jack Drury, Martin Necas, a 2025 second-round draft pick and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick to Colorado in exchange for Rantanen. The Blackhawks received a 2025 third round draft pick that the Blackhawks originally owned in exchange for Hall. The Canes also acquired the signing rights to forward prospect Nils Juntrop.
Mikko Ranatanen, 28, is currently in his 10th season in the NHL. This year he is sixth in the league in points (64). He has 25 goals and 39 assists so far this season. Rantanen is on pace to tally 100 points for the 3rd time in his career. He is an elite goalscorer who has an elite shot including a lethal one-timer and a powerful wrist shot. The Finnish star’s contract is expiring at the end of this season and is projected to receive a hefty contract this offseason. His name will certainly be at the top of the free agent list if he does not accept a contract with the Hurricanes.
Taylor Hall, 33, is currently in his 15th NHL season and has shown in the past he can be an offensive threat. The former league MVP winner has 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 48 games. Hall obviously is not what he once was, but he still has great hockey IQ, is a great skater, and can still put the puck in the net at a decent rate. Now that he has a great roster to work with, his numbers are expected to take a jump. The Canes hope he will be a key part of their core. The Calgary native’s contract does end at the end of this year, so we will have to wait and see if he ends up staying for a bit longer or if he walks onto another team.
On the other hand, the Colorado Avalanche are getting a player who will fit their system very well. Martin Necas, 26, is in his eight NHL season and is having a career year in terms of pace. The 26-year-old Czechkian is on pace to have a little over 82 points, which would be the first time in his career that he averaged more than a point per game. Necas is considered one of the best skaters in the league, he has electric speed and great playmaking ability. The Avs play with a lot of speed and like to have players who are quick and can turn on a dime, and Necas will bring them exactly that. He has another year left on his contract after this season and could heal part of the wound of letting Mikko Rantanen go.
The second player that was sent to the Avalanche was centerman Jack Drury. Drury, 24, is playing in his fourth NHL season and was a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL draft. The New York native had a good defensive game when he was a Cane and is very good at taking face-offs, but he lacked the ability to put up stats on the stat sheet. Drury has 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points this season, he is expected to play a bigger role in Colorado. Drury, like Necas, also has one more year before his contract expires.
The Avalanche had their backs against the wall with Mikko Rantanen’s contract situation.
There were rumours that they would not pay Mikko Rantanen more than their captain Nathan Mackinnon who is making 12.6 million dollars on average per year. Rantanen wanted more than that at least around that amount and the Avs were not budging. The Hurricanes will have a large amount of money freed up this offseason and are expected to hand Mikko a large contract.
