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Rantanen : From his arrival in Carolina, he told the Hurricanes that he didn’t want to play there

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Mar 10, 2025 6:42 PM ET

The Mikko Rantanen saga is finally over.

The former Avalanche player – who spent a few weeks in Carolina – was traded to the Dallas Stars last Friday.

And he’s having fun with his new team, by the way. Rantanen collected three points (two goals) in his first two games with the Stars!

He was a distraction for the Hurricanes when he was part of the organization in Carolina because we didn’t know if he wanted to stay there.

The Canes still traded Martin Necas to acquire him and we know that whole story took enormous proportions after the transaction.

But what we didn’t necessarily know is that when Rantanen arrived in Carolina… He immediately told the Hurricanes that he didn’t want to play there.

Rod Brind’Amour, passing through the Adam Gold Show, revealed that Rantanen was willing to play for four teams only… But not for the Hurricanes.

Eh boy.

When [Rantanen] arrived, he said: I want to play for four teams, and you are not one of them. – Rod Brind’Amour

To listen to Brind’Amour’s comments, you can click on the link just here.

Mikko Rantanen, in uniform at his first game with the Dallas Stars. (Credit: GettyImages)

The Hurricanes’ head coach was transparent in his comments.

But ultimately… in the end, it’s his organization that looks a little bad in all this.

The Hurricanes should have known, after all, that Rantanen was not interested in signing a long-term agreement before going to get him.

They should have done their homework properly to avoid all the fuss we’ve seen since the transaction.

They should have been certain that Rantanen wanted to stay in Carolina after being traded for the first time in his career.

Of course, Hurricanes fans have the right to be upset with the player. They saw one of their favorites leave in Martin Necas and Rantanen never seemed to be interested in playing in Carolina, which is disappointing in a way for the fans.

The story is settled, however. It’s time for the Hurricanes to move on – even if it’s easier said than done – because they still have the elements to succeed until the end of the season.

Extension

In all this, I also wonder why Rantanen didn’t want to play in Carolina.

It’s relatively warm all year round, the Hurricanes have a good group of players, there are Finns on the team like Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi…

Oh well.

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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