Reports: Avalanche trade Mikko Rantanen in a stunning move
Jan 24, 2025, 6:36 PM | Updated: 8:40 pm
The Colorado Avalanche have done what many fans thought would never happen, they’re trading superstar Mikko Rantanen.
According to multiple reports, Rantanen is headed to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-way deal.
Trade call underway now. Full deal:
To #RaiseUp: Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall
To #GoAvsGo: Martin Necas, Jack Drury, 2025 2nd Round Pick, 2026 4th Round Pick (all from Carolina)
To #Blackhawks: 2025 3rd Round Pick (their own returned from Carolina), 50% of Rantanen’s salary
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 25, 2025
The Avs will receive centers Martin Necas and Jack Drury back in the package and draft compensation, as it says above. The 26-year-old Necas has 113 career goals and 185 career assists, good for 298 points. This season for the Hurricanes Necas has 16 goals and 39 assists. He’s under contract through the 2025-26 season for $6.5 million a year.
Drury has played in the NHL for four years and has 15 goals and 31 assists, a total of 46 points. Through 39 games with the Hurricanes this season, he has just three goals and six assists. Drury is also under contract through the end of the 2026 season and will make $1.725 million next year.
Meanwhile, Rantanen tallied at least 100 points each of the last two seasons for the Avalanche, and scored 55 goals during the 2022-23 season. He had 42 goals last year and through 49 games this season had 25 goals and 39 assists, good for 64 points.
Rantanen made his debut in the 2015-16 season season with the Avs, and had played all 10 years of his NHL career in Colorado. That will come to an end for the two-time All-Star and Stanley Cup champion with this trade.
Rantanen recorded 681 points (287 goals, 394 assists) in 619 career games with Colorado, ranking him seventh on the franchise’s all-time lists in points and assists and sixth in goals. He also had 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 playoff contests.
Over the summer there was buzz that the Avalanche and Rantanen were “close” in contract extension talks, but a new deal never got done. It was reported earlier this month that Rantanen and the organization were at a “stalemate” and this is now the result. He’s been shipped out of town in a stunning move.
Rantanen and his camp supposedly wanted around $14 million a year in a new contract. The Avalanche wanted to keep him below $12.6 million a year, which is what Nathan MacKinnon currently makes. Clearly, that roadblock wasn’t going to get resolved, and now Rantanen will wear a Hurricanes sweater the rest of this season.
Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland and team president Joe Sakic couldn’t risk Mikko Rantanen walking for nothing this offseason, so they’ve brought in Necas and Drury as replacements. The two will make a little more than $8 million combined next year, so it’s way less than what Rantanen will get in his eventual new contract.
Not only does this deal give Colorado that salary cap flexibility, but more moves could be coming before the March 7 trade deadline.
Stay tuned, but no matter how you slice it, this is the end of an era.
