It’s Happening: Rantanen to Be Traded to Dallas, Signs 8-Year, $96 Million Extension

The Avalanche are going to see a lot of Mikko Rantanen in the coming years. And that includes a return to Ball Arena on March 16 with the Dallas Stars and a possible playoff series in April.

Dallas acquired the former Avs superstar winger six weeks after he was sent to Carolina. In return, the Hurricanes received forward Logan Stankoven and two first-round draft picks.

Rantanen signed an eight-year max term contract extension worth $96 million with the Stars as part of the deal.

READ MORE: Necas on Rantanen Speculation: ‘They Probably Should Have Known That He Would Sign In Carolina’

The past six weeks have been quite a whirlwind for all parties involved. Looking back, it’s almost unheard of to see something like this play out, especially given the talent involved and all three teams being Stanley Cup contenders.

Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland spent most of the summer and the start of the regular season trying to lock up his superstar winger. The talks reached a stalemate after reports surfaced that Rantanen’s camp was looking for a deal upwards of Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million AAV — and as high as $14 million per year, matching Leon Draisaitl’s extension with Edmonton.

With both sides far apart on a deal, the Avs decided to move forward with a trade, suddenly shipping off the fan favorite to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and two draft picks.

Necas, who was Carolina’s leading scorer at the time, has enjoyed instant success in Colorado. He has five goals and 10 assists in 14 games, which includes three game-winning goals.

Rantanen, on the other hand, struggled in Carolina. In 13 games, he scored two goals and added four assists. He was admittedly blindsided by the trade and needed time to adjust. While dealing with his on-ice struggles, the Hurricanes were also trying to lock him up to an extension, which Rantanen refused to do.

READ MORE: Avalanche Thrilled with Brock Nelson’s Arrival

Instead of keeping him as a rental and continuing extension talks in the summer, Carolina instead chose to recoup assets. The Stars, however, were unwilling to part with this significant of a package without permission to speak to Rantanen first. Talks began late Thursday night and went through the morning before a deal was reached.

The trade was contingent on Rantanen signing an extension with Dallas.

Ultimately, Carolina sent away Necas, Drury, a second, and a fourth to acquire Stankoven and two firsts. In hindsight, they probably want a do-over. But it’s too early to say until we know what they do with those first-round picks.

Stay tuned with Colorado Hockey Now for reactions from Avalanche players and staff about Rantanen locking in with their division rival for the remainder of the prime years of his career.