January 24, 2025, was supposed to be a night that we told future generations of Caniacs about. It was going to be the night the Carolina Hurricanes took one of the biggest swings they've ever taken to acquire one of the best scorers in the league. Just over a month later, it'll still be a night we tell future Caniacs about, but not for the reasons we initially thought.
My reaction to the news has been well-documented on this page and on social media for the last several weeks, beginning with the initial shock of the trade that went down that Friday night. At the time, I considered it one of the biggest trades in franchise history. Frankly, it still is, but its legacy has been muddied, bringing questions for all parties involved.
The entire saga has turned into a "he said-she said" with everyone having their two cents about what truly happened. I can only speak from the fan perspective that it became increasingly clear as we approached the deadline that Mikko Rantanen was being traded again. His effort against the Boston Bruins right before the deadline was that of a player with so much more on his mind than the game.
One thing was made abundantly clear very quickly: Mikko Rantanen didn't want to be traded out of Colorado. His desire to cash in on a major payday with the Avalanche hit a stalemate. It's reported that Colorado's last offer was eight years for $93.2 million, or $11.65 million per season. While Rantanen's camp wanted to keep negotiating, the Avalanche opted to trade him to the Hurricanes.
If you're taking Rod Brind'Amour's words from his interview on Monday as gospel, Rantanen made it clear that he wasn't signing in Raleigh, coming in with four teams he wanted to play for. Rantanen's agents were quick to discount that claim, saying he was keeping an open mind and that the Canes head coach was "completely misinformed". Nevertheless, the fit wasn't ideal, for whatever reason.
To the front office's credit, it wasn't for a lack of trying. General Manager Eric Tulsky gave Rantanen an offer better that Colorado's, coming in a little over $100 million over eight seasons (~$12.5m AAV). I'm sure the 4 Nations break didn't help matters either, keeping Rantanen out of Raleigh for most of his early time with the Canes.
There are plenty of rumors that there were outside forces that made it clear they didn't want to be in Raleigh, with Rantanen saying that he told the Canes a week before the deadline that he wasn't going to sign an extension. Several teams were interested, with Toronto and Edmonton making pushes before the Canes landed on the Stars. It took time, but the extension and the deal were agreed upon.
A lot has been made about the Carolina Hurricanes' inability to retain top-end stars. Former NHL player and current NHL Network analyst Mike Rupp took aim at Carolina twice in the deadline's aftermath, saying this decision puts the Canes behind for a couple of seasons and continues a trend of guys not wanting to sign in Carolina.
The most illuminating part of Brind'Amour's interview was him discussing the Jake Guentzel situation last summer. Guentzel wanted to sign with Carolina, but it never materialized. He wanted to be here. There's nothing about the current state of the organization that is deterring players from coming. That's evident in the extensions of several homegrown draftees. Raleigh is a great place to play.
As for the team's future, I fail to see how not signing Rantanen harms the future of the organization, in the short or long term. Right now, this is a dangerous team and they're still a decent Stanley Cup contender. Not to mention the future cap space and deep pool of prospects that the Canes can either add to with the draft capital they acquired or trade for impact players during the offseason.
If the first two games after the deadline are any indication, the Carolina Hurricanes will be fine. They're in the midst of their second-longest winning streak of the season and their new additions have fit nicely. I really wanted the team to sign Rantanen but am not heart-broken that it didn't work out. There's no denying he's an excellent player. If he doesn't want to be a Hurricane, that's on him.