Mikko Rantanen Makes his Feelings Known After Being Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes
Star forward Mikko Rantanen made his feelings known after being traded by the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
Trades that shake the entire National Hockey League don't happen often, and we might have seen the biggest deal since the Matthew Tkachuk trade to the Florida Panthers back in 2022 with the Mikko Rantanen trade.
Indeed, with three teams, four players, and three draft picks involved, this deal drastically changed the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes' short and long-term plans.
The Avalanche seemingly realized that they couldn't offer Rantanen enough money to keep him on board. After Leon Draisaitl's $14M AAV contract, he wanted to get a similar number, and the Avs didn't want to pay him more than what is earning Nathan MacKinnon, especially with Cale Makar's contract expiring in two years.
However, this still came as a shock for Rantanen, who was reportedly caught off guard by the organization's decision.
Indeed, according to Andy Strickland, the Avs' 10th overall pick in 2015 was upset about the trade:
Nonetheless, Rantanen has a big opportunity to remain with the Hurricanes, one of the top contenders in the NHL, for a long time. The Canes are in a great financial situation and could pay him what he wanted to earn with Avs.
Elliotte Friedman made a declaration suggesting that:
"I believe that Carolina wants to see if they can sign Rantanen. I don't think this is only just about trading for him as a rental, I think this is about seeing if can we sign him."
As for Carolina, general manager Eric Tulsky was thrilled about his acquisition:
"Mikko is one of the premier power forwards in our sport. It's no secret that we've wanted to add elite skill to our lineup, and this is a player who should fit our system and locker room well. And Taylor gives us another high-skill option to bolster our attack."
| POLL |
JANVIER 25 | 866 ANSWERS Mikko Rantanen Makes his Feelings Known After Being Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes Do you think Mikko Rantanen will sign a long-term contract with the Carolina Hurricanes? |
|
|
|
3 hours ago | By Graham Montgomery NHL Insider Reveals Canadian Team is Interested in Trading for Elias Pettersson |
|
5 hours ago | By Graham Montgomery Stanley Cup Champion Defensemen Withdraws From Four Nations Roster for Team Canada |
|
7 hours ago | By TJ Tucker Mikko Rantanen Fires Back at Rumours of Wanting Huge Money to Stay in Colorado |
|
10 hours ago | By Julien Trekker Colorado Avalanche's Final Contract Offer to Mikko Rantanen Leaked by Elliotte Friedman |
|
12 hours ago | By Julien Trekker Mikko Rantanen Breaks Silence and Speaks for the First Time Since Being Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes |
|
14 hours ago | By Tom Banks Surprising Eastern Conference Team Revealed As Favourite To Land Elias Pettersson Per Elliotte Friedman |
|
Jan 25 | By Tom Banks Major Injury Setback for Blue Jackets Veteran Forward: To Miss An Additional Six to Eight Weeks |
|
Jan 25 | By Tom Banks Nathan MacKinnon Makes His Feelings Extremely Clear on All-Star Teammate Mikko Rantanen's Surprising Trade |
Previously on Bladeofsteel
