The Carolina Hurricanes have become the talk of the NHL since they acquired star forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche. Since his arrival, however, Rantanen’s future with the Hurricanes has grown foggy. His name has re-appeared in trade talks and while the Hurricanes have offered him a massive contract, it’s not certain he sticks in Carolina long term.
With the trade deadline under a week away, the Hurricanes are running out of time to make a decision on Rantanen’s future. The contract offer shows that they aren’t afraid to offer him big bucks, but this hasn’t been an easy transition for the player.
The Avalanche all but assured Rantanen they wouldn’t trade him earlier in the season, and they quickly went back on their word. Not long after arriving in Carolina, the NHL entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Rantanen didn’t get time off to explore to city or get to know new teammates but had to represent his country in Montreal and Boston.
According to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, the Hurricanes are obviously trying to go for the Stanley Cup this year, but they need to pick a direction with Rantanen.
“Carolina has to make a decision here,” Friedman said. “What do they feel comfortable doing? Do they feel comfortable going for it? Or do they say ‘you know what, we don’t like where this is going and we’re going to try and see the best player we can get.’”
The Hurricanes sent Martin Necas and Jack Drury to Colorado for Rantanen but it hasn’t yet worked out like they’d hoped. In 11 games with Carolina, Rantanen has just two goals.
Despite the contract offer that exceeded $100 million in total value, the Hurricanes may want to consider moving on from Rantanen already. Friedman notes that the Hurricanes would need another impactful player in return.
“Even if Carolina decides they’re going to move on,” Friedman said. “They want to try and win a Stanley Cup this year. So you have to at least make it worthwhile to them.”
With the deadline just days away, it seems like they’ll have to make the decision on their own, and fast.
"To me, I just don’t know that they're going to get any clarity by this week,” Friedman said. “It's been too much of a whirlwind on the guy… He hasn’t had a lot of time in Carolina, I don’t even think it's about the money… It's primarily wrapping his head around the whole situation."
The Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and could use a player like Rantanen. If they decide to keep him, they’ll need him to find what made him the Avalanche’s leading goal scorer in three of the last four seasons.
Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!
