Rantanen 'fantastic fit' for Hurricanes after trade from Avalanche 

The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t just add a superstar in forward Mikko Rantanen. They added the right kind of superstar for their style and someone who could push them further in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But they had to take a risk to do it, and there are two questions now: How do they fare in the playoffs this season with Rantanen? Do they sign him to a long-term contract to keep him from leaving as an unrestricted free agent?

“He’s a fantastic player, and we expect him to change our team and make us better, and that’s what we get judged by,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said Saturday. “How far the team goes and what happens from there remains to be seen. Obviously, we hope it works out in both ways.”

Carolina is the best possession team in the NHL. It spends more of its time in the offensive zone in all situations (47.1 percent) and at even strength (47.0 percent) than any other team, according to NHL EDGE, the League’s Puck and Player Tracking Statistics.

Now the Hurricanes have perhaps the best power forward in the NHL after acquiring Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche in a blockbuster three-team trade Friday. Rantanen is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound man people compare to a moose. He has 681 points (287 goals, 394 assists) in 611 games since 2016-17, his first full NHL season, 10th in the League. He has 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 50 games this season, sixth in the NHL.

“He’s a fantastic fit for the way we play,” Tulsky said. “We play a system that has us battling for pucks along the walls and trying to make plays at the net front, and he’s just one of the best in the League at some of those things. A lot of the identity of our team right now comes from the way [6-foot-4, 220-pound center Jordan Staal] plays and sort of carries play with his heaviness and his strength, and Mikko can do all of that but with really high-level skill to go with it.”

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs six straight seasons, advancing to the Eastern Conference Final twice in that time, and are second in the Metropolitan Division. But they haven’t won a game past the second round since they won the Stanley Cup in 2006.

Now they have one of the most prolific playoff scorers in NHL history. Rantanen has generated 1.25 points per game in the playoffs, tied for Mark Messier for sixth among players who have appeared in at least 35 games. The only names higher on the list? Wayne Gretzky (1.84), Mario Lemieux (1.61), Connor McDavid (1.58), Leon Draisaitl (1.46) and Nathan MacKinnon (1.30), Rantanen’s old Colorado teammate.

Rantanen won’t play with MacKinnon or defenseman Cale Makar in Carolina. But he will have plenty of talent around him there too. The Hurricanes are averaging 3.37 goals per game this season, fifth in the NHL. After their 3-1 loss at the Boston Bruins on Saturday, the Avalanche are averaging 3.24, eighth in the League.

“Having someone with his size and strength as the game gets more physical and more intense is obviously beneficial,” Tulsky said. “He’s had playoff success. Of course, that’s something you always want … to bring in when you can. But he’s one of the best players in the League, right? He’s good at a lot of things, and playoffs are one of them.”

The Hurricanes paid a high price with no guarantees.

They received Rantanen from the Avalanche as well as forward Taylor Hall and forward prospect Nils Juntorp from the Blackhawks. They sent forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas to Colorado with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, and they sent a third-round pick in the 2025 draft to Chicago, which retained 50 percent of Rantanen’s $9.25 million salary.

Necas led Carolina with 55 points (16 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games this season and was in the first year of a two-year, $13 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) he signed as a restricted free agent July 29. Drury had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 39 games and was in the first season of a two-year, $3.45 million contract ($1.725 AAV) he signed as a restricted free agent July 17.

Rantanen can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He was available because the Avalanche couldn’t sign him to a long-term contract. Tulsky said the Hurricanes wanted to acquire Rantanen as long as possible before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7 and have had only preliminary discussions with his camp.

“We will be talking to the agent throughout, but I wouldn’t expect him to sign away the next six or seven or eight years of his life without knowing what he was getting into, so we have that opportunity,” Tulsky said. “That’s part of what doing it early buys, is the chance for everybody to understand the relationship before we commit to anything.

“Of course, we would love to get it done, and we will be working on that.”

Tulsky said Carolina has about $35 million to $40 million of space under the NHL salary cap next season. How many other teams will be able to offer Rantanen what he wants along with a chance to win? Probably not many. That had to make the Hurricanes more comfortable with taking this chance, a chance that doesn’t come along too often.

“He’s an incredible player, and if he gets to free agency, I’m sure there will be teams that will pay him a lot of money,” Tulsky said. “… It may not come down to the money for him. It may come down to where he wants to be, and so our goal is to make him want to be here and then offer enough money that he doesn’t have to think twice about it.”