February 19, 2025 | 12:28PM ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
RANTANEN’S FUTURE WITH CAROLINA IN QUESTION?
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Mikko Rantanen, forward
The Carolina Hurricanes made a huge splash Jan. 24 when they acquired Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in a three-way trade with Colorado and Chicago. The notion, at the time, was this team is going all-in in their pursuit for a championship.
Even though Rantanen is on an expiring contract, the club felt comfortable in their position and comfortable in their ability to pay him a significant contract worth more than $100 million if he decides to stay in Carolina.
Fast forward 26 days and there appears to be a certain amount of doubt floating around the NHL regarding Rantanen’s future in Raleigh.
During Tuesday’s edition of “The Latest” on TFP with Kate Petterson and David Pagnotta, Pagnotta noted that some noise over the 4 Nations Face-Off suggests Rantanen may not be interested in signing with the Hurricanes, which could force the team to move him by the deadline.
“In the chatter over the last few days around 4 Nations, there’s a lot of talk surrounding his future and it not likely being in Raleigh,” Pagnotta said. “Now, things can certainly change and this is a lot of speculative talk, but it is important to note that money won’t be the factor here. Carolina is willing to give him the big bucks that he’s looking for, in that $14 million (per year) range. So that’s not an issue. It really is going to come down to Mikko Rantanen and being comfortable staying there long-term, and there are a lot of people around the league, there’s a lot of chatter among teams that they’re doubting that’s the case.
“Obviously nothing is done until it’s done. But if that does occur, if that’s the notion that Carolina gets, they will explore the market on him to recoup the assets that they gave up to get him. No guarantee they pull the trigger on it and no guarantee he doesn’t sign, but a lot of the chatter right now that I can tell you around 4 Nations has been that his future in Raleigh up in the air. So, we’ll keep tabs on that.”
Since joining the Hurricanes, Rantanen has picked up one goal and one assist in six games, bringing his total on the season to 66 points in 55 games. He collected one goal in three games with Finland during the 4 Nations Face-Off.
If Rantanen elects to test the waters July 1, whether he is traded again or not, there will be significant interest and it is possible his AAV surpasses $14 million on the open market.