Mikko Rantanen’s time with the Carolina Hurricanes ends after 42 days. His time with the Dallas Stars is expected to be much, much longer.
With hours until the NHL trade deadline, the superstar right winger joins the Stars in another blockbuster move after not signing a contract extension with the Hurricanes. The Stars, however, signed Rantanen to an eight-year contract extension worth $12-million annually with a full no-move clause.
Carolina receives right winger Logan Stankoven, a 2026 first-round draft pick that's top 10 protected, a 2028 first-round pick that's also top 10 protected, a 2026 third rounder and a 2027 third-rounder. If the 2026 first-rounder falls in the top 10, it converts to an unprotected first-rounder in 2027. The 2028 first-rounder would become an unprotected 2029 first-rounder if it landed in the top 10 as well.
Dallas brings one of the NHL’s top 10 scorers of the last eight years back to the Central Division ahead of a potential playoff matchup against the club that sent him away in January. Carolina moves forward in its pursuit of the Stanley Cup without risking losing another star in free agency.
The Hurricanes saw Rantanen as the game-breaking talent who can drive them past the second and third rounds, where their Cup chases ended in the last three years. They traded Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a second-round pick, third-round pick and fourth-round pick to get Rantanen and left winger Taylor Hall from the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks in January’s three-team deal.
But Rantanen was a pending UFA in the final year of a six-year contract worth $9.25 million annually. His 70 points in 62 games are the second-most among all pending free agents, trailing Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Mitch Marner. His new contract with Dallas comes when the NHL salary cap is set to rise to $95.5 million in 2025-26 and past the $100-million mark afterward.
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The 28-year-old from Finland couldn’t agree on a new deal with the Hurricanes. While he averaged more than a point per game with the Avalanche this season – 64 points in 49 games – Rantanen’s scoring also dropped in Carolina to six points in 13 games. He shot on net at a higher rate than he did with the Avalanche this season, but his shooting percentage fell to five percent with Carolina from 18.5 percent with Colorado.
With the trade deadline approaching, the Hurricanes decided to trade Rantanen instead of keeping him as a potential rental.
Carolina already dealt with last season’s big-ticket trade acquisition, Jake Guentzel, not re-signing in Raleigh. That led the club to trade his signing rights to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2025 third-round pick on the day before free agency opened.
This time, they get a rookie with a nice shot, speed and effective forechecking. Despite being undersized at 5-foot-8, Stankoven burst onto the scene with 14 points in 24 games last season. He had nine goals and 29 points in 59 games for the Stars ahead of the move, and at only 22 years old, he can develop in the Hurricanes’ core.
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Rantanen, on the other hand, is back in the Central Division where he played with the Avalanche for the first parts of 10 seasons of his NHL career. He was an instrumental part of the Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, and he was reportedly shocked when Colorado traded him.
Now, Rantanen could face his former team in the first round.
The Stars sit second in the Central with 84 points, six points behind the Winnipeg Jets and eight ahead of the Minnesota Wild and Avalanche. The Wild sit third in the Central, but the Avs have been better in the last 10 games and added Brock Nelson at the deadline as well. If Colorado finishes third, the Stars and Avalanche will face off in Round 1.
Buckle up for a fierce Central Division battle for the rest of this season and years to come now that Rantanen has a new eight-year deal. And back in the East, the Hurricanes now hope their bold move to acquire Rantanen in the first place was worth it.
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