The Carolina Hurricanes took a swing for the fences Friday night by acquiring high-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in a blockbuster three-way trade.
Colorado will receive Carolina’s leading scorer, forward Martin Necas, as well as bottom-six center Jack Drury, a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2026, both from Carolina. To balance the salary cap numbers, Carolina is sending a third-round pick in 2025 to Chicago in exchange for Hall and the Blackhawks retaining 50 percent of what’s left on Rantanen’s $9.25 million cap hit.
It’s a bold move for Carolina, which enters its game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday second in the Metro at 30-16-3, eight points behind the division-leading Washington Capitals and three in front of the third-place New Jersey Devils. The ’Canes are 10 points ahead of the fourth-place Columbus Blue Jackets, who hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and 11 ahead of the New York Rangers.
However, while the Hurricanes are on track for their seventh straight trip to the playoffs and their fourth consecutive season with more than 100 points, they haven’t reached the Stanley Cup Final since winning their only NHL championship in 2006. Carolina has made the Eastern Conference Final twice in the past six seasons but was swept by the Boston Bruins in 2019 and the Florida Panthers in 2023.
It’s the second straight year that the Hurricanes have opted to add a big-name forward who can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer; they brought in Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins last year. Although Guentzel played well, the Hurricanes lost to the Rangers in the second round — and Guentzel opted to sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rantanen, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, leads the Avs with 25 goals and was sixth in the NHL entering Friday’s games with 64 points. The first-round pick (No. 10 overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft has been a big piece of Colorado’s core for the past several years. He set career highs with 55 goals and 105 points two seasons ago and has had back-to-back 100-point seasons.
“Mikko is one of the premier power forwards in our sport,” Carolina GM Eric Tulsky said. “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.”
Carolina swings for the fences by adding Mikko Rantanen
The 28-year-old was part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup-winning team in 2022 and has been part of Colorado’s “Big Three” for the past four seasons alongside center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar. Rantanen is sixth in Avs/Quebec Nordiques history with 287 goals and seventh with 681 points. His 55 goals in 2022-23 are tied for third in franchise history and is the most by any player since the club moved to Colorado for the 1995-96 season.
He figures to play on the right side of a line with center Sebastian Aho. They will also be teammates on Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-off next month.
Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft by the Edmonton Oilers, won the Hart Trophy with the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18 but hasn’t come close to that level of play since. He has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 46 games with Chicago this season. Carolina will be the seventh different team Hall has played for; he hasn’t had more than 20 goals or 61 points in any season since winning the Hart seven years ago.
He hasn’t been to the postseason since playing with the Boston Bruins in 2022-23.
“There’s always a bright spot and there’s always a positive you can take going on forward. Everyone in a contract year knows there’s a lot of different ways things can go,” he said. “I’m ready for anything. I have a great wife who is always ready for a good adventure, and if that’s here or if that’s somewhere else, we’ll figure it out.”
Necas is having a breakout season. He leads Carolina with 55 points (16 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games. The 26-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, $13 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value). Don’t be surprised if he’s paired with MacKinnon on the top line for the Avs (28-19-2), who hold the first wild-card berth in the Western Conference entering their game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday.
The Hurricanes took Necas in the first round (No. 12) of the 2017 draft. He set career highs in goals (28) and points (71) in 2022-23. While Necas and Rantanen are similar in size and position, he is faster and less physical.
Necas began the season with 44 points in his first 30 games. But his scoring pace dropped considerably after that, with two goals and 11 points in his next 19 games.
Drury, the nephew of New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury, turns 25 next month. He has three goals and nine points in 39 games this season while averaging 12:53 of ice time. The 5-foot-11 center was a second-round pick in 2018, and he’s in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.725 million cap hit.
The trade gives the Avalanche additional draft capital and cap space to work with as the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline. The Avs also have Necas for another cost-assured season, rather than having to worry about signing Rantanen to an eight-figure contract this summer or losing him as a free agent.