The NHL trade deadline is just under one week away, set for noon PST on Friday, March 7. The biggest story heading into this pivotal week of the season is the circumstances surrounding Mikko Rantanen and the Carolina Hurricanes.
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The Canes acquired the 6-foot-4, 215-pound winger from the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 24 along with winger Taylor Hall in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Reports of the two sides working on an extension have surfaced, but have yet to come to terms. The growing sentiment is if the Canes don’t feel with complete certainty they can get a deal done with Rantanen, that they’d be open to trading him ahead of Friday’s deadline.
In his recent “32 Thoughts” column and again on his “32 Thoughts” podcast, premier NHL insider Elliotte Friedman speculated if the Anaheim Ducks could be a team that could surprise and become involved in trade talks surrounding Rantanen.
“So let’s just say this was a team I looked at: Anaheim,” Friedman said on his podcast. “Last summer, swing at Marchessault, don’t get him. Swing at Stamkos, don’t get him. What if they have a chance?”
Friedman made very clear he was simply speculating, but a few of his previous speculations surrounding the Ducks have come true. In Sept., he speculated the Blues could be interested in acquiring Cam Fowler at some point during the season after they had engaged in talks earlier in the Summer. He also speculated the Ducks could target Greg Cronin while they were in the midst of their coaching search a month before he was hired in June, 2023.
The Fit
Rantanen is a superstar, detail-oriented NHL winger coming off of back-to-back 100-point seasons after winning his first Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2021-22. He’s in the final year of a six-year contract that carries an AAV of $9.25 million. The Chicago Blackhawks retained half of Rantanen’s salary for this season in the deal that sent him to Carolina.
Nothing official, but I continue to believe that Carolina will roll the dice on Mikko Rantanen without an extension.
A team would have to *really* step up and pay through the nose for an extension-less Rantanen to get it done.
Seems unlikely we’ll see that.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) March 2, 2025
Every team in the NHL could use a Mikko Rantanen. The Ducks are at the point in their rebuild where they have most of their young talent in the NHL and are taking a significant stride in the standings, even pushing for a playoff spot in early March. They have only so many spots on their depth chart to fit more young players pushing for NHL jobs in the coming years. If their goal is to eventually add a superstar talent, the time seems to be now to get them over the hump and to where they want to go.
The Hurdles
No-Trade Clause
Rantanen’s contract comes with a nine-team no-trade clause he submits before the start of each season. Given where the Ducks were expected to be this season, there’s a good chance they’re on his “no” list. It may require a waive of his NTC if Anaheim indeed intends to acquire him this season.
Extension
The driving reason behind the Canes even considering trading Rantanen revolves around their uncertainty he’d re-sign with the organization. The Ducks would likely want a guarantee of some sort of his intention to sign a long-term contract with the club.
The benefit of trading for Rantanen versus attempting to sign him as an unrestricted free agent in the summer would be exclusive negotiating rights until July 1, and that the team that acquires him can offer him an eight-year deal instead of a seven-year deal, providing extra security should the player value it.
The Ducks will enter the offseason with a roughly projected $30 million in cap space, so they are among the teams who could afford any asking price from Rantanen’s camp.
Price
Assuming the Canes intend to trade Rantanen, the fact that he would come with an extension in place, and the pool of teams vying for his services could be up to 22 NHL clubs, the price of acquisition could be the largest NHL trade in recent memory.
The Hurricanes are firmly in their Stanley Cup contending window while also having a large pipeline of talented prospects on the way. The Ducks have several remarkably talented players just beginning their NHL careers or soon will be who are cost-controlled and could be appealing to Carolina.
Deciphering Rantanen’s actual value in a deal like this is nearly impossible, but some comparable deals could be the trade that sent Jack Eichel to Vegas in 2021 or Matthew Tkachuk to Florida in 2022.
If the Ducks enter trade talks with the Canes to bring Rantanen to Anaheim, they’ll likely have to part with multiple talented, young players along with a high draft pick or two. It would hurt in the short term, but players like Mikko Rantanen aren’t made available very often.
Photo Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
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