It's been hardly a month since the shocking three-way blockbuster trade that shipped Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes transpired and the superstar forward could reappear on the trade bait list.
The winger hasn't meshed with the Hurricanes as many may have assumed. Rantanen has tallied only two points in the six games he's played in Carolina and the front office could feel behooved to move him before committing to a long-term contract.
Rantanen is drawing interest from contending teams who could acquire him as a rental for a playoff push per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Carolina Hurricanes right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) skates against the New York Islanders.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
"I think a lot of people are looking to see where this is going to go," Friedman said on an episode of the "32 Thoughts" podcast. "I do believe there were some talks between the Hurricanes and Rantanen during the 4 Nations, and we'll see where this goes. I think if Rantanen is a pure rental, the lineup is going to be very long.
"The thing about Rantanen is, the Blackhawks ate 50% of his salary, so if you take a look at him in Carolina, his cap hit there with the Hurricanes is $4.625M... You've got to think teams like Vegas, Dallas Winnipeg, Florida, Tampa, Toronto. I wonder what you can get for him with that kind of competition."
Friedman added that Carolina or even a third party could retain part of Rantanen's salary in a potential deal. With the Blackhawks having already retained a portion of Rantanen's salary in the first trade, Carolina taking a taking on another chunk of his $9.25 million would create an extremely price-efficient opportunity for any suitor.
"The Hurricanes have three retention spots. If they want to flip Rantanen, it's a little over $2.3M; anybody can do that, Friedman added. "You're going to be able to find a way to handle that ... If he's available, there will be teams saying, 'We can't sign him, but we'll want to do him as a rental.' And I think it could be good teams."
