SportyTV | Hurricanes acquire F Rantanen from Avalanche in three-team blockbuster

The Carolina Hurricanes made a major move to bolster their team for the playoff run, acquiring star forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche in a three-team deal that also includes the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Hurricanes end up with Rantanen and veteran forward Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks and will send forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, as well as a second-round pick in this year's draft and a fourth-rounder in 2026 to the Avalanche.

Chicago reclaims a third-round pick for this year's draft and will take on half of Rantanen's salary.

The 28-year-old Rantanen, a two-time 100-point scorer who had an Avs-record 55 goals in 2022-23, is the headliner in the trade. He had spent his entire NHL career with Colorado after being drafted 10th overall in 2015, but he was in line to become an unrestricted free agent next season after he and the organisation couldn’t agree on a new deal entering this year.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs for six straight years, with two of those pushes reaching the Eastern Conference Final. But they're still looking for a breakthrough to the Stanley Cup Final in this current run under coach Rod Brind'Amour, the captain on Carolina's 2006 Cup winner.

Rantanen, who has a $9.25 million cap hit for this year, joins a team sitting in second in the conference with 63 points, behind league leader Washington (71).

Carolina also added a former Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP in the 33-year-old Hall, who missed most of last season due to right knee surgery. Hall was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft who had 39 goals and 54 assists for New Jersey en route to winning the Hart for the 2017-18 season.

The deal marks the end of Necas’ tenure with the team that drafted him in the first round in 2017. The 26-year-old, a skilled offensive player with 16 goals and 39 assists for a team-best 55 points this year, signed a two-year, $13 million contract in July to avoid an arbitration hearing.