NHL
By Mark Lazerus, Scott Powers, Chris Johnston, Arthur Staple and Pierre LeBrun
The Carolina Hurricanes shook the hockey world Friday night, six weeks before the March 7 trade deadline, acquiring pending unrestricted free-agents Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in a three-team deal with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks, the teams announced.
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In exchange for Rantanen, the Avalanche are receiving Martin Necas, Jack Drury and draft picks from the Canes (a 2025 second-rounder and 2026 fourth-rounder). The Blackhawks will get a 2025 third-round pick from Carolina in the deal for Hall. Chicago is also retaining half of Rantanen’s cap hit but none on Hall, league sources said.
The trade is a stunning midseason swap of point-per-game players in their primes, an anomaly in the NHL trade market in the salary-cap era.
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Rantanen has been overshadowed by his megastar teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in Colorado, but the 6-foot-4 winger is the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer over the last five years, with 188 goals and 431 points in 338 games. That’s more points than Artemi Panarin, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and David Pastrnak, just to name a few. Rantanen is on pace for his third straight 100-point season, with 25 goals and 39 assists in 49 games.
Rantanen gives Carolina the megastar it’s always lacked and could slot in on the right side with Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho to form one of the most imposing lines in hockey.
Necas, who appeared to be on the way out last season because of unhappiness with his playing time in Carolina, instead signed a two-year prove-it deal with a $6.5 million cap hit. He quickly proved it, even holding the scoring lead in early December. He’s got 16 goals and 39 assists in 49 games.
Drury is a depth center, with three goals and six assists in 39 games in largely a fourth-line role for the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes already are thin down the middle and were in the market for a second-line center, so GM Eric Tulsky might not be done just yet.
With Chicago retaining $4.625 million of Rantanen’s salary, and Necas and Drury coming off the books, the Hurricanes still have some cap space to play with. With pristine books, they also are one of the few contenders who might be able to afford Rantanen long-term. — Mark Lazerus, NHL senior writer
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It’s not a trade that the Avalanche — still Stanley Cup contenders in their own right — wanted to make, but with Rantanen sure to command a contract similar to Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112-million deal, Colorado likely couldn’t have afforded him this summer.
The trade gives them two cost-controlled players — Necas and Drury are both signed through next season — that can at least help fill the void left by Rantanen. — Lazerus
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The 33-year-old Hall isn’t the same player who won a Hart Trophy in 2018, but he has shown flashes of his old self at times with the Blackhawks. He produced nine goals and 15 assists in 46 games this season. He had two goals and two assists in 10 games last season before having season-ending right ACL surgery.
Hall had been holding out hope to re-sign with the Blackhawks and continue to help them in their rebuild. He recently expressed less optimism about that scenario.
The Blackhawks aren’t expected to have a massive trade deadline, but they were anticipated to make a few moves, including trading Hall. The Blackhawks want to open a few NHL roster spots for later this season for incoming college prospects. It’s possible Boston University junior forward Ryan Greene, Minnesota sophomore forward Oliver Moore and Minnesota sophomore defenseman Sam Rinzel sign after their college seasons and immediately jump to the NHL.
The Blackhawks are receiving a 2025 third-round draft pick from the Hurricanes in the deal. The pick was originally owned by the Blackhawks, but they previously dealt it to the Hurricanes for a 2024 third-round pick. The Blackhawks drafted forward Jack Pridham with the 2024 selection.
The Blackhawks have one cap retention spot remaining after the trade. They are still retaining $2 million in cap space on Jake McCabe, who they traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2022-23 season. Teams are allowed three retention spots. — Scott Powers, NHL senior writer
(Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
