Stars land Hurricanes’ Mikko Rantanen in NHL trade deadline whopper

Mikko Rantanen’s fleeting tenure with the Hurricanes is officially over.

The Stars acquired the 28-year-old forward ahead of Friday afternoon’s trade deadline in a blockbuster, according to multiple reports.

The Hurricanes, who landed Rantanen less than two months ago from the Avalanche, will be receiving forward Logan Stankoven, first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, plus third-rounders in each of those years, per insiders.

The deal also comes with an eight-year extension for Rantanen expected to average $12 million per year.

The extension was a sticking point with the Hurricanes, who were unable to entice him to stay in Raleigh after coming over from Colorado on Jan. 24.

The Finnish winger was set to be a free agent at season’s end and would have only been eligible to ink a seven-year deal had he hit he open market.

“I think, that the time, I had to look at all the options because there was no deal when the [Carolina] trade happened. I had to really think about my life for a long period of time,” Rantanen told TSN’s “Tradecentre” broadcast. “Not only on the ice, but also ff the ice. Obviously, really good team in Carolina… I think the fit in Dallas, I’ve been thinking about it a lot with my camp and myself … just the fit everywhere, I think that’s what the position was.”

Rantanen is now headed to his third team of of the 2025 after spending the first nine-plus years of his career with the Avalanche.

Rantanen helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022 and had been a key piece alongside Nathan MacKinnon over the years. 

With his contract expiring this coming offseason and the Avalanche failing to reach an extension, Rantanen was surprisingly shipped to Carolina, where he played just 13 games and scored two goals.

Rantanen has posted 27 goals and 43 assists so far this season.

His 70 points are good for 11th in the NHL this season entering Friday’s slate, just one point outside of the league’s top-scorers.

Before the trade to Carolina, Rantanen was on pace to score 40 goals for the third consecutive season after he tallied 42 goals a year ago and 55 the season before.

The Stars are currently second in the Central Division at 41-19-2, six points behind the Western Conference-leading Jets.