NHL News: Mikko Rantanen Reportedly Traded to Stars, Agrees to $96M Contract Extension

Mikko Rantanen is reportedly on the move for the second time this season.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Dallas Stars acquired Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes, where he will sign an eight-year, $96 million contract extension with the team.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff later reported the full return for Rantenen:

It has been just over one month since the Hurricanes gave up Martin Nečas, Jack Drury and two draft picks to acquire Rantanen's expiring contract from the Colorado Avalanche in a three-way Jan. 25 trade.

The Hurricanes made Rantanen an extension offer "into the nine digits," according to Friedman.

That kind of contract would have made Rantanen one of the highest-paid players in the NHL. The only active NHL players on contracts worth at least $100 million are Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid.

Had the Hurricanes believed there was a possibility of extending Rantanen, it seems likely the team would have kept him for this spring's deadline. The trade indicates the Canes received some indication Rantanen wouldn't re-sign with them this offseason.

That benefits Dallas, which will now have the game-changing offensive star for the foreseeable future.

Rantanen had a relatively quiet Hurricanes career, posting two goals and four assists in 13 games amid time missed due to injury. Given that he is coming off back-to-back 100-point seasons, Dallas will hope he can bounce back and approach last season's 40-goal pace in time for the playoffs, where he may be on a collision course with his former team.

The Avalanche and Stars could be facing one another as early as the first round, putting Rantanen on track to take on his former teammates this spring.

The Stars were already one of the best goal-scoring teams in the NHL prior to the trade. Dallas will now hope Rantanen can quickly find chemistry with his new linemates, potentially including top-line center Roope Hintz, to make this offense even more dominant before a potential matchup with the high-scoring Avs.