Avalanche trade Mikko Rantanen to Hurricanes, according to reports

Corey Masisak, The Denver Post on Jan 24, 2025

Published in Hockey

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DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche have traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, according to multiple reports.

Once official, this will be one of the most stunning transactions in franchise history. Martin Necas and Jack Drury are coming to Colorado as part of the deal, which is a three-way trade involving the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina and Colorado, according to reports. Taylor Hall was a late healthy scratch for the Blackhawks and is also reportedly going to Carolina.

Necas, 26, is having a breakout season for the Hurricanes. A 6-foot-3 wing, Necas has 16 goals and 55 points in 49 games. He is in the first season of a two-year, $13 million contract.

He was a first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2017 NHL draft. Necas set career highs in goals (28) and points (71) two seasons ago. While similar in size and position to Rantanen, he is faster and less physical than the guy who earned the nickname “Moose.”

Drury, who turns 25 next month, has three goals and nine points in 39 games this season while averaging 12:53 of ice time per contest. He is a 5-foot-11 center who was a second-round pick in 2018. Drury is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.725 million cap hit.

His uncle is Chris Drury, who played four seasons with the Avalanche and was on the 2001 Stanley Cup-winning team and is currently general manager of the New York Rangers.

Rantanen is in the final year of his contract and can be an unrestricted free agent in July. He leads the Avs with 25 goals and has 64 points, which was sixth in the NHL entering Friday night’s games.

A first-round pick in 2015, Rantanen has been part of the core for the Avs for years and is one of the best wings in the league. He set a career high with 55 goals and 105 points two seasons ago and has had back-to-back 100-point seasons.

Rantanen won the Stanley Cup with the Avs in 2022, and has been part of arguably the best “Big Three” in the sport for the past four seasons alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Rantanen has scored the sixth-most goals (287) and seventh-most points (681) in franchise history. His 55 goals in 2022-23 are tied for the third-most in franchise history and are the most since the club moved to Colorado.

The Blackhawks are retaining half of Rantanen’s cap hit for the rest of this season as part of the deal, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic.

Colorado signed Rantanen to a six-year contract worth $9.25 million per season on Sept. 28, 2019. He was a restricted free agent at the time. His agent also represents Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who signed an eight-year pact worth $14 million per season in September, and there have been reports that Rantanen was seeking a similar deal.