NHL Winners and Losers: Mikko Rantanen Traded to Stars

If the Colorado Avalanche's moving on from franchise great Mikko Rantanen in January wasn't stunning enough, how about the Hurricanes rebounding him over to Dallas after just 13 games played?

Two highly unlikely outcomes mean that Mikko Rantanen is a Dallas Star, and not just for this season; the Finnish power forward committed to an eight-year contract worth $12 million annually to facilitate the move.

In total, the Hurricanes received forward Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks (2026 and 2027) and two third-round picks (2026 and 2027).

This blockbuster will have monumental implications on the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs as well as the fate of the two franchises for the next decade. There are different players involved whose careers take new turns. Plus, an unexpected loser gets caught up in the moment.

Keep reading for analysis of the winners and losers of Mikko Rantanen's spontaneous pivot from the Hurricanes to the Stars.

Winner: Dallas Stars

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The team that makes the biggest move isn’t always the team that wins at the trade deadline, but Dallas has to feel mighty fine about what has transpired here.

Rantanen is the best player that any contending team acquired this season and second place isn’t in eyesight. This is a 100-point winger that defensemen see in their nightmares. He’s a 6’4” boulder that is tough to unbalance, and his hands are all-world. Few forwards in the league drive offense like he can, and he is, at worst, in the discussion of the top five wingers in the NHL.

One has to think he’s built for the Stars as well. To the extent the Stars have any weaknesses at forward, they are softest at right wing. Rantanen fits right in. Rantanen is a good in-zone player and dangerous off the rush. The Stars generate offense in transition better than any team in the Western Conference.

If head coach Pete DeBoer deploys him with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson—two players who excel in creating scoring chances off the rush—it could be the best line in hockey.

The clincher here is that Rantanen will come to Dallas with a built-in eight-year extension. Look around the NHL this season or at previous trade deadlines and it’ll become apparent how little resistance teams have to parting with first-round picks. Often, teams move them for rentals. Or, teams cough them up for lesser players with term. In the last 24 hours, Jake Walman and Scott Laughton both required first-round returns.

Yes, Dallas is giving up multiple first-round picks, a good young player and some more picks, but is it not far better to up the ante for one premium asset who will be with the team long-term? Rantanen will be a borderline superstar for years in Dallas.

Colorado’s acquisition of Brock Nelson on Thursday left questions about which team was the one to beat in the Western Conference. There’s no debate now.

Dallas is at the top of the pyramid in the West this season, and Rantanen should be a part of many runs at the Cup for some time.

Overtime Winner: Mikko Rantanen

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It should be apparent by now that Rantanen’s hesitancy to re-sign with the Canes was about more than the shock of the trade and the 4 Nations break. Rantanen just did not seem comfortable in Carolina.

He was not playing well, and, had he stayed around past the deadline, it would have been an awkward and tense atmosphere.

Presumably, Rantanen feels much better about his fit in long-term fit in Dallas and is just as likely to compete for a Stanley Cup there as he was in Carolina. His 8-year, $96 million deal gives him occupational security and generational wealth. All’s well that ends well.

One has to wonder if he wishes it didn’t come to this. The Avalanche reportedly offered Rantanen $11.75M per season. After incorporating tax estimates, is the difference between $90 and $96 million worth all of this? Knowing what he does now, would he not have taken that offer to remain with the Avalanche, a team with whom he spent his entire career and with whom he hoped to stay? 

Overtime Losers: Carolina Hurricanes

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How you perceive the totality of everything that has happened in Carolina depends on the angle you view it.

Let’s backpedal to the 2024 offseason. Martin Necas was without a contract and reportedly wanted out of Carolina. The domino effect of that moment is that GM Eric Tulsky turned Necas and Jack Drury into Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round picks.

In the aggregate, the Hurricanes grade out well here. Stankoven is already a middle-six winger, and the 22-year-old has enough skill and will to eventually earn a top-six role. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour will love his motor, which helps him compensate for his 5'8" height. He shares some similarities with fellow Hurricane Seth Jarvis.

The Hurricanes come away with significant pieces that should sustain the organization for a long time. This type of asset regeneration is what the Hurricanes do best and it’s why they were able to withstand the exodus of many critical players over the summer.

But let’s remember why the Hurricanes kept Necas and were willing to give him up. The Hurricanes are a perennial contender but cannot get over the hump of a second-round or Eastern Conference Final finish. They are an elite possession team that comes up a few goals short. They hoped Jake Guentzel would solve that last season and hoped Rantanen would this season and beyond.

The Hurricanes attempted to pool assets for one big difference-maker who could get them to a Stanley Cup and now they somehow came away from the trade deadline with a similar pile of assets. Stankoven is a solid player who will become a good one but more of the same type of strong pusher of pace who lacks shooting prowess. The departure of Necas—to say nothing of Rantanen—makes the Canes a worse team at a time when they’re tired of not being good enough.

Big picture? The Hurricanes end this saga having preserved organizational stability and they remain a contender for the Stanley Cup. But the status quo is not the ambition in Carolina. They wanted to add a big-time player who could tilt the scale in their favor against other playoff contenders. If they could reverse time, they probably would have avoided the whole thing by executing the rumored move for Elias Pettersson instead.

Losers: Colorado Avalanche

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The Avalanche have their own agenda. Necas has been great and Colorado has augmented the roster with several additions to become a deeper team.

They’re in good shape for a playoff run.

It’s probably not a coincidence that they traded Rantanen to the Eastern Conference, though. In their window of contention, they would not have wanted to embolden a Western Conference competitor.

The Monkey’s Paw strikes again. Turns out, this created a chain of events in which Rantanen ends up not only in the West, but with a direct Central Division rival.

For clarity, if the Avalanche believe they made the right decision to move on from Rantanen six weeks ago, then this shouldn’t shake that belief. It is nonetheless a cruel bit of irony that Rantanen ends up with the team that poses the biggest threat to a second Stanley Cup in the MacKinnon/Makar era. Specifically about this deal between the Hurricanes and Stars, the Avalanche are unexpected losers.