The Stars made the trade and signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract ($12 million average annual value). He will make his Dallas debut at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, Victory+).
Rantanen said he thought about his life on and off the ice, and he liked the fit in Dallas.
“I’ve played against Dallas a lot,” he told TSN. “I know they have a good team. I know the city well enough and everything there, and I’ve only heard good things about the organization and everything, so at the end of the day, it was easy. Easy decision at that point.”
Obviously, this is bitterly disappointing for Colorado and Carolina.
The Avalanche were hoping to keep Rantanen, who had spent his entire NHL career with them, become an elite player with them, and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2022. They sent him to the Hurricanes, only to see him end up with a Central Division rival.
They are going to have to face the 6-foot-4, 215-pound man known as “Moose” often in the regular season — starting March 16, when they host the Stars at Ball Arena in Denver — and perhaps in the Stanley Cup Playoffs too.
“Those games are going to [stink], like, a lot,” Colorado defenseman Devon Toews said. “It’s not going to be fun to play against him and to have to deal with his big body and his presence down low and his scoring ability. Trying to shut that down is a problem, a big problem to figure out.”