Elliotte Friedman speculated on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Carolina Hurricanes could look to explore a Mikko Rantanen trade if they can’t get the forward signed to a contract extension. The talk is very speculative, and Friedman is not the first to float the idea of another Rantanen trade as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period has mentioned it before and even Friedman discussed it as a possibility back on February 7th.
Carolina is reportedly okay with paying Rantanen an annual salary in the $14MM range (as per Pagnotta) but the talk around the league is that his decision will come down to fit and whether or not he would be comfortable in the setting he signs a long term deal in.
Carolina just traded for Rantanen back on January 25th, and if they were to move him to another deal, they would have the ability to retain his salary, which could push his cap hit down to just $2.3MM. That would open up the door for many contenders to pursue him, which might start a bidding war for the 28-year-old. Most of the top teams in the NHL are pressed up against the salary cap, but for a true star at the price point, the suitors would be many.
Friedman points out that even teams who normally couldn’t pursue Rantanen, or wouldn’t pursue him may be inclined to, simply because the cap hit would be so minimal, and it might stop one of their potential playoff opponents from trading for him.
Either way, the development will be fascinating to watch. If Carolina can’t get Rantanen signed long-term, they might see the opportunity to extract more value than they traded away as a bigger priority than holding onto Rantanen as a rental this season. Any team looking to acquire Rantanen would likely view a trade for him as a pure rental, which will suit some teams just fine if they feel their competitive window is closing and they can get him at a discount.
Given the source is Friedman, odds are low any of this is real. He is nothing but a guy who makes up stuff he thinks would be fun and characterizes it as based on actual talk. One of the worst, the Jim Bowden of the NHL.
Carolina trades for Mikko Rantanen only for it to apparently not work out for the team & the player…ouch! IMO if you’re Carolina, you got to get assets back before the trade deadline or otherwise, it’s going to make Carolina management look utterly foolish under the circumstances if he just walks after the season.
I find it hard to see a team trading numerous assets just to have him as a pure rental. If you’re trading for a top talent like Rantanen, the objective is to keep him. But I do think teams that have significant cap space going into next season like Utah, Columbus, Chicago, Anaheim, Calgary & such will be the teams in play for him. I guess time will tell.
Tanner Jeannot
Since when is trading for a rental “utterly foolish”?
If they win a Cup it wont look foolish.
Anyway, its all speculation based on 6 meh games where the whole team was sick. Things could look very different 2 weeks from now.
Or a flip could happen. Until there are some concrete sources, though, I wouldnt bet on it.
@Kevin F – Good lord! Can you not read or comprehend what you read lol.
I didn’t say trading for a rental was utterly foolish.
I said it would be utterly foolish for Carolina not to get anything for Rantanen before the trade deadline especially if he doesn’t want to stay & he ends up walking.
@itsmeheyhii – Again, can you not read or comprehend what you read lol.
I didn’t say trading for a rental was utterly foolish. I was talking about Carolina not to get anything for Rantanen before the trade deadline especially if he doesn’t want to stay & he ends up walking would be utterly foolish.
@Dfa1989 – What does that have to do with the topic at hand? Nothing…that’s right.
Yes, the Jeannot trade was bad but every team has bad deals here or there as there are plenty far worse than that one by teams. Tampa also did trades for Hagel, Paul, Coleman, McDonagh, & so forth. Tampa has had more successful trades than not.
I read it and understood. Apparently you didnt.
I will repeat it: If they win a Cup it wont look foolish – even if Rantanen walks. Pretty simple.
@Itsmeheyhii – You didn’t word it that way in your OP as it was a bit ambiguous as I thought you were talking about teams in general on rentals not Carolina specifically.
I wasn’t criticizing Carolina getting Rantanen but if he doesn’t want to stay, they would be better off getting assets for him.
Anaheim is about to throw $14 mil at him to get him on a line with Leo Carlsson for the next 7 years
It wouldn’t surprise me if Anaheim makes a play for Rantanen. I mentioned them as one of the teams that could since they will have the cap space.
You’re still describing a rental player.
It is super hilarious to me that you question whether people can read as you end a question with a period.
No I wasn’t in the context. You’re just conforming what I said into your twist.
LOL! Grammar police?!? HAHA! We’re going to talk grammar on here? Really? Most on here don’t even use proper grammar on these boards most times lol
Also if I ended a question with a period it’s because I hit the wrong key & just didn’t look to correct it. Common sense should tell you that but being dense seems to be your thing. Seriously, get over yourself.
It’s what they did with Guentzel.
For someone who posted 20 times on this article alone, you should take your own advice in your last line.
Friedman talks alot, And never really says anything.
That would seem a really bad train of events for the Canes if it came to that.
All depends on how the playoffs shake out.
The Guentzel trade looks bad in hindsight because they choked vs the Rangers in the second round. Had they won a Cup no one would have cared.
Odds are greatly in favor of not winning just based on statistics, obviously. So theres definitely a chance this turns out similarly.
The Guentzel trade looks bad? They didn’t give up anything for him. That trade was a win for the Canes regardless.
Agreed… Guentzel trade was a nice move and not resigning him is the part that looks bad. As in that deal, a unwillingness to spend on signing bonuses is what will probably scuttle signing Rantanen.
Miko (sign and trade) + Orlov (salary) for Seth Jones (retain $3M) and Bertuzzi and a 2nd
I don’t see the Canes doing that trade.
They should make a play for Jones, but it wont cost a top-10 NHL winger and a team top-4 dman. Bertuzzi and a 2nd dont come close to balancing that out.
Stars will kick this tire… either him or Boeser, which ever is cheaper
Stars would have several players the Canes would want. They draft very well.