For the second year in a row, the Carolina Hurricanes are making a big move to strengthen their playoff team.
On Friday night, the Hurricanes acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-team trade. In exchange, they sent forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, along with a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a fourth-round pick in 2026 to Colorado.
The Blackhawks received a third-round pick for this year’s draft and took on half of Rantanen’s salary.
Rantanen, 28, is the key player in the deal. A two-time 100-point scorer, he set an Avalanche record with 55 goals in the 2022-23 season. He had been with Colorado since being drafted 10th overall in 2015 but was set to become a free agent next season after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract.
“Mikko is one of the premier power forwards in our sport,” said Carolina’s first-year general manager Eric Tulsky. “It’s no secret that we’ve wanted to add elite skill to our lineup, and this is a player who should fit our system and locker room well. And Taylor gives us another high-skill option to bolster our attack.”
The Hurricanes have made the playoffs for six straight years, with two of those seasons reaching the Eastern Conference Final. However, they are still aiming to reach the Stanley Cup Final under coach Rod Brind’Amour, who captained the Hurricanes to the Cup in 2006.
Last year, Carolina tried to fix a long-standing problem by acquiring Jake Guentzel before the trade deadline to add more scoring. However, after a second-round playoff exit, they traded Guentzel’s rights to Tampa Bay before he was set to become a free agent.
Now, they’re adding Rantanen, who carries a $9.25 million cap hit this year, to a team that is second in the conference with 63 points, trailing Washington (71).
Carolina also adds Hall, a former Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, who is 33 years old. Hall missed most of last season after right knee surgery. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft and had 39 goals and 54 assists for New Jersey in the 2017-18 season, winning the Hart Trophy. This season, Hall has nine goals and 15 assists in 46 games, with a $6 million salary and free agency approaching.
Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen had a positive view on the trade for Hall.
“For him, he gets an opportunity somewhere else,” Sorensen said. “It’s part of the business, right? So he’s got to deal with it. He’s a good pro. Been around the league for a long time. Has some good insight in terms of ideas, especially offensively.”
Hall’s teammate and Chicago’s captain, Nick Foligno, said the team shares some responsibility for the trade.
“We have no one else to blame but ourselves really in putting ourselves in the situation where they have to start thinking about the future and selling off. It’s not a fun feeling for anybody in here,” Foligno said.
The trade ends Necas’ time with Carolina, the team that drafted him in the first round in 2017. The 26-year-old, who has 16 goals and 39 assists, leading the team with 55 points this year, signed a two-year, $13 million contract in July to avoid an arbitration hearing.
The 24-year-old Drury, a former second-round pick, had 15 goals in 153 regular-season games with Carolina. They now join the Avalanche, who are fighting for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, while the Blackhawks, who are second-to-last in the league with 35 points, now have nine draft picks for this year.
Carolina also acquired the rights to forward prospect Nils Juntorp in the trade. This deal comes just before the NHL’s 4 Nations tournament break and a little more than a month before the trade deadline on March 7.
With close playoff races in both conferences, teams are looking to get ahead in the trade market. Talks have also picked up with rumors about Vancouver possibly trading forward J.T. Miller.
