Mikko Rantanen was traded to the Dallas Stars by the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday and then signed an eight-year, $96 million deal with Dallas, according to multiple reports.
The contract has an average annual value of $12 million.
In return for Rantanen, the Hurricanes reportedly received forward Logan Stankoven and a first-round and third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and a first and third in the 2027 NHL Draft.
It is the second time the 28-year-old has been traded in less than two months. He was acquired by the Hurricanes in a three-team trade with the Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24.
He was in the final season final season of a six-year, $55.5 million contract ($9.25 million average annual value) he signed with the Colorado Avalanche on Sept. 28, 2019, and could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
“It’s been crazy, like you said,” Rantanen told TSN. “It was the first time I’ve been traded from Colorado and it happened quick, everything, and all of a sudden you’re on a new team for the first time and then this situation comes with the contract and stuff, so it’s been something that I never thought I would fully experience, but here we are.
His pending free agency is the reason the Avalanche dealt him long before the NHL Trade Deadline. He said there were several reasons for not signing in Carolina.
“I think at the time obviously I had to look at all the options because there was no deal when the trade happened,” he said. “It was kind of a situation where I had to think about my life for a long period of time, not only on the ice but also off the ice. Obviously, it’s a really good team in Carolina, the last couple of years they’ve been close to the Stanley Cup. But I think the fit in Dallas and I’ve been thinking a lot about it with myself and my camp and Susanna and everything. Just the fit I feel like everywhere, I think that was what the decision was.”
Rantanen is tied for 11th in the NHL this season with 70 points (27 goals, 43 assists) in 62 games, but he only had six points (two goals, four assists) in 13 games with Carolina, including no points in a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
The Stars (41-19-2) are second in the Central Division with 84 points, six behind the NHL-best Winnipeg Jets having played one less game. The Hurricanes (37-22-4) are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, 10 points behind the first-place Washington Capitals.
“It’s hard to single out one team, so I wouldn’t say it was just one team,” he said. “When you look around at your situation and you see what’s best for you and that’s what I was kind of doing for a month or so and think about everything. But just the fit in Dallas and just to be a part of the group, it’s a great team and they have been successful the last couple of years, so hopefully I can jump in there and help the team.
Selected by the Avalanche with the No. 10 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Rantanen has 687 points (289 goals, 398 assists) in 632 regular-season games with Colorado and Carolina, including 371 points (160 goals, 211 assists) in 299 games over the past four seasons, which ranks seventh in the NHL.
He also has 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 20 games in 2022, when he helped the Avalanche win the Cup for the first time since 2001.
Now he joins one of their rivals in the Central Division and a possible opponent in the postseason.
“It would be two good teams and it’s possible for sure,” he said.
Stankoven has 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 59 games this season, his second in the NHL. The 22-year-old had 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 24 regular-season games in 2023-24, and eight points (three goals, five assists) in 19 playoff games.
Stankoven, who was selected by Dallas in the second round (No. 47) of the 2021 NHL Draft, has one season remaining on his three-year, entry-level contract he signed with the Stars on Sept. 28, 2021.
Dallas has won four in a row and seven of its past eight. The Stars will look to take the next step after losing in six games to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final last season. The Stars last reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, losing in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Carolina has won three in a row and has its eyes set on a seventh straight playoff berth, having won at least one round in each of the past six postseasons.