3 Trade Packages for Mikko Rantanen at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

Here we are, once again. Staring down the barrel of an NHL trade that really should not happen, but very well might happen because of how asset management works in the league. The Carolina Hurricanes are second in the Eastern Conference, and while it's not ideal to trade a guy you just acquired, there's been some smoke around the possibility. 

The latest official word (per TSN) is that they have no intention of doing so. If Rantanen comes back and informs the Canes' front office that he has no desire to discuss an extension at this point, though that could very well change. The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline is March 7—that's Friday. In a situation like this, that's both no time at all and all the time in the world.

Before we dive in I'm gonna be honest with you: I'm not doing the math on these trades down to the last cent of cap space. That's for the front office guys who get the big bucks. But we're going to get as close to something that brings balance.

Carolina Hurricanes — Internal Rental

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I know, I know, he's already there. But hear me out. Maybe Rantanen won't sign in Carolina after the season ends and his current contract expires. That's always a concern, and obviously, they wouldn't have acquired him in the first place if they didn't want to keep him long-term. But he's finally starting to click with the team. And chances are not good that the Canes will find someone else who will both have the same level of impact Rantanen is capable of and who will want to stick around long-term.

So what's the most sensible route? Using Rantanen as, effectively, an internal rental. You already made the trade. You paid a decent price in Martin Necas and Jack Drury, especially given how both players have looked in their time with the Colorado Avalanche. Out of all the options, it's probably most worth sticking it out and hoping that Rantanen adjusts to what, by all accounts, was a shocking trade and plays like himself down the stretch.

This is a guy who has five 80+ point seasons under his belt, two of which crossed the 100-point mark. You acquired him for a reason. You're not going to get a guy like Necas back if you trade him off somewhere. Give him more than a month and change to make an impact. If he still doesn't want to sign, trade his rights before free agency opens and call it a wash. You'll have done your best.

Toronto Maple Leafs — Easton Cowan and Nick Robertson

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Go with me on this—what Toronto most needs is help down the middle, but Mikko Rantanen is a seriously impactful guy.

Although he's not a center, the Leafs—and Leafs fans—would love Mikko Rantanen. He busts his tail every shift and he's an elite scorer, able to play the role of either shooter or distributor. He's got incredible hockey sense, and good decision-making cannot be overvalued in the fires of the playoffs. He's great at outworking opponents, and isn't that always a criticism we hear about the Leafs' stable of marquee forwards? Talents like Rantanen don't come up on offer often. If he's an option for the Leafs, they need to at least make inquiries.

On the other side, there's been chatter that the Leafs are open to trading one of Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten to acquire the right player. My money is on Cowan, the smaller of the two, to be the one traded. And we know that the Hurricanes love small, impactful forwards. (Cowan's not that small, but we're talking relatively here.) Cowan alone wouldn't be enough in a return, but Nick Robertson's name has been thrown out as a trade deadline piece. Robertson is highly skilled offensively, and a quick skater—reading his scouting report feels like reading Carolina's calling card, and trading Rantanen requires bolstering the forward corps.

Edmonton Oilers — Matthew Savoie and a 3rd-round pick

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The Edmonton Oilers want a Stanley Cup, and they want it badly. And the window to get it before captain Connor McDavid gets tired of being embarrassed year after year is not as wide as many think. For that reason alone, I can see them taking a big swing and trying to land Rantanen—especially since they're a team that would dump truckloads of money on his front lawn to get him to sign in free agency this summer. Why wait for a UFA bidding war if you can acquire him now and get his contributions on your Cup run?

If the Hurricanes are resigned to trading Rantanen, they have to know that the circumstances and the fact that the entire league knows that he isn't planning to sign with Carolina affect his trade value. On the other hand, it doesn't affect it quite as much as it might with other players, because he's still Mikko Rantanen. And Mikko Rantanen is still tempting. Matthew Savoie would at least be useful for the Hurricanes, and getting something useful in return for Rantanen is pretty good in this corner they have painted themselves into (in the hypothetical world where a trade happens). Savoie is just starting his pro career. He's played a grand total of four NHL games. Getting a young piece who has very real skill can help extend the window they're in. And with the pick, well—we all know how good the Hurricanes are at getting value out of mid-to-late-round draft picks.

Anaheim Ducks — Trevor Zegras

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This one is a little wacky. The Anaheim Ducks are not a contender right now. With a few key moves, though, they could be soon.

And over the last year or so, there's been a lot of wishy-washy talk, both in the media and from 'anonymous' sources, about whether or not the Ducks view Zegras as part of that future. He's got a lot of talent, and a lot of gas left in the tank. He's just a little downtrodden from spending so long on a bad team (and the pandemic impacting the start of his career probably didn't help). It's possible that a change of scenery would rejuvenate him.

Zegras makes a little more money than Rantanen, and the Chicago Blackhawks are already retaining half of Rantanen's salary to make his trade from the Avalanche work in the first place. But this package is a pie in the sky, a hypothetical trade to a non-contender. We're really only looking at those principle pieces. I have faith in the math wizards over there in Raleigh to figure out the details. At the end of the day, if you have to move forward without Rantanen, well—at least in this scenario you're moving forward with Zegras?