Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes faced the league-leading Winnipeg Jets in their first game since the NHL Trade Deadline and the first game of the post-Mikko Rantanen era, which saw the Canes welcome newly acquired forwards Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski into the mix.
Their individual impacts were instant, and the team looked completely rejuvenated and played the typical Hurricanes brand of hockey that had been absent recently. Let’s get into three key takeaways from the game.
Jankowski Magic
I don’t think anybody had Mark Jankowski matching Mikko Rantanen’s 13-game goal total (two) within his first few shifts as a Hurricane, but here we are. I mean, this is incredible stuff. It wasn’t even a given that he was going to play after being a rotational piece at practice before the game, but talk about making the most of your opportunity. His acquisition at the deadline on Friday made very few headlines after the Rantanen commotion, and maybe he took that personally.
There’s a lot to be said about the Hurricanes’ system and how a certain type of player just seems to fit in better. Jankowski is that type of guy. He has great size (6-foot-4, 212 pounds), he plays with pace and is willing to get to the dirty areas. He’s a seamless fit for the team’s high-tempo forecheck, and despite not being a prolific goalscorer, he’s shown to have a lightning-quick release. It’s hard to imagine how his debut could have gone any better, and he looks to be an excellent addition to the team’s bottom-six forward group.
Stankoven Makes His Debut
Alongside Jankowski, it was obvious the new guys came to make a strong first impression. Logan Stankoven, the prized player return in the Rantanen trade, was immediately inserted on the first line and top powerplay unit — and the returns were instant. He scored his first goal for the team as the net-front presence on a PP unit that has been abysmally bad for the past several weeks, re-directing home a Shayne Gostisbehere point shot.
Obviously, you don’t want to make conclusions based on one game, but it seems rather obvious that Stankoven is a great fit for the way the Canes play. He’s gritty for such a small guy, a willing battler, and he plays with exceptional pace. He’s versatile enough to play anywhere in the lineup, and his skill was on full display when he had the puck on his blade. Having just turned 22 last week, he looks to have the makings of becoming a potential core piece to a Hurricanes organization that’s currently loaded with good young talent.
Chemistry Is Real
Make no mistake about it, the entirety of the Hurricanes organization and fanbase wanted the Rantanen move to work out. In an ideal world, it would have been a match made in heaven, and the player would have signed an eight-year contract to spend the rest of his prime years in Raleigh. As history suggests, that did not happen, and the team made the shrewd decision to remove him from the locker room and deal him for what can only be considered a strong return.
The harsh reality with Rantanen is that he’d become a black cloud over the team, with his attitude and effort totally out of sync with what has made the Hurricanes successful over the past several seasons. He’d admitted himself that he had already decided he wasn’t re-signing in Carolina a week before he was dealt, which was a clear distraction to the team. It culminated with Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins that, despite winning, had the team looking nothing like their normal identity and left fans with a bitter taste in their mouth as Rantanen was clearly out there sandbagging.
Sometimes, despite what popular belief might be, removing a potential poison from your locker room is more beneficial than keeping it around. While the Hurricanes could have kept Rantanen as a rental to help propel them further in a playoff run, it became abundantly clear that he would not be key for that. He never bought into the system and was playing like he’d already had one foot out the door. And while the team was largely mocked and shredded by the media for the way they handled the entire situation since the initial trade, removing the sour grapes from the bag was the only way to preserve what was still fresh. Taylor Hall, who was acquired in the same deal, immediately acclimated to the group in a way that Rantanen did not — and the way he’s played has shown a severe contrast between a guy who wants to be here and one who didn’t.
The Hurricanes’ biggest asset is their identity as a team — playing hard, team-oriented hockey where every player is a major key to the team’s fate. They attack and defend as a complete five-man unit, and if you’re not on board with that philosophy as a player, you just won’t fit. There is no denying Rantanen’s quality as an elite attacking player in this league, but he showed zero commitment or desire to play within the system, so the Hurricanes were left with a shell of the elite player he is. Both Stankoven and Jankowski showed instantaneously that they’re happy to be here and happy to learn and integrate in the system, and it’s conceivable to believe that the team is better off with them rather than the uber-talented Rantanen who wasn’t willing to commit the same way.
Related: Hurricanes’ Trade Deadline Has Set Them Up for a Reload in the 2025 Offseason
Overall, this was the best game the Hurricanes have played in months, and one of their best of the season as a whole. If that doesn’t speak volumes, I’m not sure what does. You can’t help but wonder if the entire group has a chip on their shoulder after acquiring a star player who came into the mix and almost immediately decided he didn’t want to be part of it. Adversity can pull people closer together, and it’ll be intriguing to see if this run of events can actually elevate the Hurricanes to a new level.
What’s Next
The Canes are currently on a four-game winning streak, rounding into form as the playoffs inch closer. They’re in the middle of a four-game homestand, which will see the Tampa Bay Lightning visiting on Tuesday, followed by the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. They will then embark on a four-game road tour, which includes three games out West as part of the California road trip.
