Stars' Updated Roster, Salary Cap After Mikko Rantanen Trade with Hurricanes

The Dallas Stars are all in for a Stanley Cup push.

The Stars traded for and extended Mikko Rantanen after reaching a deadline day deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported Friday.

Rantanen has agreed to an eight-year, $12 million AAV million deal that includes a full no-movement clause, per The Athletic's Chris Johnston.

The Stars parted ways with two first-round picks, two third-rounders and Logan Stankoven as part of the trade.

Prior to the trade, the Stars placed Miro Heiskanen on long-term injured reserve to free up his $8.45 million cap hit, per PuckPedia.

Tyler Seguin ($9.85 million) and Nils Lundkvist ($1.25 million) are also on LTIR.

Rantanen is carrying a cap hit of just $4.625 million after the Chicago Blackhawks ate half of his salary as part of his January trade to the Canes.

After adding his contract, the Stars should still have over $9 million left in LTIR space, per PuckPedia:

Rantanen will now get the chance to slot in on the Stars' top line, while Stankoven will be replaced on the fourth. Here's a look at projected lines in Dallas following the trade (h/t Daily Faceoff):

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FORWARDS

Jason Robertson - Roope Hintz - Mikko Rantanen

Mason Marchment - Matt Duchene - Mikael Granlund

Jamie Benn - Wyatt Johnston - Evgenii Dadonov

Oskar Back - Sam Steel - Mavrik Bourque

DEFENSEMEN

Thomas Harley / Ilya Lyubushkin

Esa Lindell / Cody Ceci

Lian Bichsel / Matt Dumba

GOALTENDERS

Jake Oettinger

Casey DeSmith

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Seguin could slot in on the right of the second line when healthy, while the Stars would likely reunite Lindell and Heiskanen on the top pairing.

It is not clear if either player will return in time for the playoffs. Seguin underwent surgery with an anticipated four-to-six-month recovery timeline on Dec. 5, putting his return at the earliest in early April. Heiskanen underwent knee surgery on Feb. 4 and is considered "month to month."

If healthy in time for the playoffs, the Stars could add either or both players back to the roster thanks to the NHL's relaxing of salary cap restrictions during the postseason. Multiple teams including the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights have technically been over the cap during their recent Cup-winning seasons.

The Stars made another major move Friday by signing Wyatt Johnston to a five-year, $8.4 million AAV contract extension, per TSN's Darren Dreger.

Johnston, who has been anchoring the Stars' third line, is in the middle of his third straight 20-goal season for Dallas.

The 2025-26 salary cap is expected to jump by $7.5 million to $95.5 million next season, followed by $8.5 million and $9.5 million increases over the next two years, respectively.

Those increases will be key in fitting in Rantanen and Johnston's extensions, as noted by JFresh Hockey:

The Stars are still projected to be over the cap next season by Spotrac, and the team has more crucial contract negotiations coming up given Jake Oettinger's RFA status and Jamie Benn's pending unrestricted free agency. For now, Dallas will focus on the spring's upcoming playoff run.