The Carolina Hurricanes will not be holding superstar winger Mikko Rantanen out of the lineup tonight against the Boston Bruins despite mass speculation that the team is potentially looking to trade him.
The Canes acquired the high-scoring Finnish winger in a January blockbuster deal that saw him and Taylor Hall come to Carolina in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury heading the other way to the Colorado Avalanche.
It hasn't been an instant click for Rantanen in Carolina as the winger has had both a slow go of adapting to the new style as well as a difficult time wrapping his head around the blindside trade in the first place.
The 28-year-old winger has just two goals and six points in 12 games with the Hurricanes, but despite that, he's still generating a ton of looks with his new team.
Since joining the Hurricanes, Rantanen leads the team in CF% (64.92%) while also having a 61.25 HDCF% and 59.58 xGF%.
He's been a very effective player and it was looking like just more of a matter of when for him.
Even though he reportedly hasn't accepted the team's nine-figure offer, he hasn't said 'No' to extending either.
There's still another day to go before the trade deadline (Friday at 3 p.m.), but as of now, it's looking more and more likely that Rantanen will remain a Hurricane for the remainder of the season.
After that, the complete focus will be on re-signing him for many more seasons to come.
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