Grading the Stars’ Blockbuster Trade for Mikko Rantanen

The Mikko Rantanen trade took a little while to get done, but for the second time in as many months, he’s on the move to a new team. The news broke late last night, but the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars linked up on a trade to send Rantanen to Dallas, with Rantanen signing an eight-year extension at an AAV of $12 million. Here are the full details:

Stars receive:

• Rantanen

Hurricanes receive:

• Logan Stankoven
• 2026 1st-round pick
• 2027 1st round pick
• 2026 3rd-round pick
• 2027 3rd-round pick

The Stars have a lot of star players (no pun intended), so what’s one more? Between Wyatt Johnston, who also signed an extension today, and Jason Robertson, the Stars will be a tough out in the Western Conference playoffs. As for the Hurricanes, it’s just an all too familiar pattern for them.

Stars Hit Another Home Run

Stars general manager Jim Nill rarely misses (unless it’s signing or trading for right-handed defensemen), and he certainly did not miss here. Rantanen did struggle a bit in his short time with the Hurricanes, totaling six points in 13 games, but his underlying metrics were excellent.

Rantanen had an expected goals share (xG%) above 60 percent in his 13 games with the Hurricanes. The reason he wasn’t scoring is because his on-ice shooting percentage was unsustainably low. He was mostly getting unlucky, and I would have bet on him getting it together had the Hurricanes decided to keep him.

Their loss is the Stars’ gain, though. Rantanen may not put up some of the gaudy point totals he did with Nathan MacKinnon, but there’s potential. He’ll likely get minutes alongside some combo of Johnston, Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, or however head coach Pete DeBoer wants to assemble his lineup.

When on his game, Rantanen is one of the best wings in the NHL. Players who measure 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, don’t always have the skill he does, making him a unicorn. He’s a play-driving winger who does a bit of everything. He creates for himself and his teammates and will finish his chances.

I love this addition for the Stars. They’ve come close to the Stanley Cup Final the last two years, falling in the Western Conference Final twice. Stankoven is a good player and will probably develop into a top-six winger, but you have to give up something to get something good. Since Rantanen came with an extension, there’s no problem giving up Stankoven, and the draft picks mean nothing since they’re in win-now mode.

Stars Grade: A+

It’s All Too Familiar for Hurricanes

Ah, the Hurricanes. I’ll admit that I’m surprised they actually pulled the trigger on flipping Rantanen. At some point, you have to go for it and win a Stanley Cup. The Eastern Conference is wide open this season, and they had a good enough roster with Rantanen to compete. After today, they’re probably below the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference.

Once again, they have no star scorer on the team. At least last season, they kept Jake Guentzel for a playoff run before losing him in free agency last offseason. I can’t imagine this sends a good message to the players in the room, though Rod Brind’Amour seems like the right coach to guide them through that. This is not to knock Stankoven, either. All the underlying metrics show a player who’s due to be a legit top-six scorer in this league. He’s just not there yet.

If there’s a silver lining, the Hurricanes will have extra draft picks to work with across the next few drafts. Maybe they use them at the draft, but if they don’t, expect them to acquire a player or two that’ll help and put them over the top. That’s how they operate, and I expect them to try and be aggressive again this offseason.

While I don’t hate the return for the Hurricanes, I don’t love them bailing on Rantanen after 13 games. It feels like it’ll end up being another wasted year in Raleigh, and you can only have so many of those before things get stale. Eventually, you have to go for it.

Hurricanes Grade: B-