Grading the Blockbuster Mikko Rantanen Trade

In a rare midseason blockbuster trade, Mikko Rantanen is going to Carolina in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury.

The Hurricanes are sending Martin Necas and Jack Drury to the Avalanche in exchange for Mikko Rantanen. They are also sending a third round pick to the Blackhawks in exchange for Taylor Hall and half of Rantanen’s cap hit to be retained by the Blackhawks.

Tristan: Potential A+ for the Canes, B for the Avs

Necas was signed to a bridge deal to see if he was worth keeping, and did he ever live up to the contract. While he is not as high of a caliber player as Rantanen, he has been over a point per game player this year.

Necas will fit just fine on a line with Nathan MacKinnon, and shouldn’t see a drop off in his production. If anything, he should see a rise in his production because he didn’t have a playmaker like MacKinnon in Carolina.

The Avs are losing a top goal scorer, but replacing him with a solid playmaker and shouldn’t see too much of a drop off. It shouldn’t hurt the Avs too much and they have him for another year.

The Hurricanes are not losing anything in this trade. They are trading their highest point scorer this season, for a player who is even better and has scored 50 goals in the league. Hall looks washed, they shouldn’t expect much, but should be thrilled at any production they do get.

However, we saw this same story just a season ago. The Hurricanes traded for an offensive weapon on an expiring deal in Jake Guentzel.

Guentzel worked out amazingly scoring 25 points in 17 games and being a top threat in his short time in Carolina, but wasn’t re-signed and left for Tampa in the offseason.

Rantanen will be a great player, there is no doubt about that, but if the Hurricanes don’t win the cup AND they don’t re-sign Rantanen, it will be a waste. It will be an A+ if they do one or the other, if they do neither, it will be an F.

Josh: A for the Hurricanes, B+ for the Avs, F for the Blackhawks

For the second straight season, the Carolina Hurricanes have made a massive splash before the trade deadline, in acquiring both Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall for the price of two roster players and three draft picks.

Losing Martin Necas in the midst of a career-year is a blow for the Hurricanes, but it could also be seen as a blessing in disguise for the team as well.

Throughout the majority of the offseason, the rumor mill was swirling with an abundance of trade rumors for Necas, as he and the front office could not work out a deal.

With the two-year bridge deal announced late in the summer, it seemed clear that the former No. 12 overall pick was most likely headed out the door at SOME point for greener pastures. General manager Eric Tulsky just happened to make the move quicker.

It feels like a perfect match for Necas and the Mile High state, as his blazing speed joins the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for probably the fastest three-man crew in the league.

The Avalanche get the added bonus of having Necas under contract for an extra season as well, something the Hurricanes can’t say about Rantanen.

Jack Drury is an ideal Rod Brind’Amour type of player, solidifying his spot in a bottom six role. He can instantly slot into an Avalanche lineup that needs some more grit, and maybe he can unlock an extra gear in Colorado as well.

Rantanen is a bonafide stud, with multiple 90-point seasons and nearly a point-per-game player, not to mention a proven playoff stud, something the Hurricanes have truly lacked for years, besides having Jake Guentzel for a handful of games last season.

Add to that a former No. 1 overall pick and Hart Trophy winner, Carolina clearly got the best part of this deal, hence the A grade.

The possibility of not retaining Rantanen past this season is the only reason this isn’t an A+, and for the Avs, giving up a player like Rantanen is never going to get you an A grade no matter the return.

As for the Blackhawks they… were a part of this deal. Retaining half of Rantanen’s contract and giving up Hall just to get their own third round pick back might be some of the worst asset management in the last few years.

Sure Hall was having a down year, but a player of his caliber could easily have fetched more in a month or so.

Andrew A for the Hurricanes, B- for the Avs, F for the Blackhawks

It was a move that surprised everyone. The Hurricanes went out and got a franchise level player along with a very solid depth piece for not giving up a lot. It seemed very similar to the move they made last year to go get Jake Guentzel.

The Avs got Martin Necas and Jack Drury. While the haul for Mikko Rantanen is good the question is did they get enough?

There were multiple draft picks moved in the three-team deal.

Let's Start with the Avs who I gave a B. It makes sense for them as it was unsure if they were going to be signing Rantanen. It’s been reported he was looking for a deal around 14 million dollars and the Avs were not willing to pay this.

So they traded him to Necas who was a great player for the Hurricanes. He was leading the NHL in points at one time. Along with this they get Jack Drury who will be a great depth piece for the Avs.

I gave the Avs a B because I feel this wasn’t enough. Rantanen is a franchise level player and you didn’t even get a first round pick for him. Yes, it’s better than losing him for nothing, but I feel that they could have waited till closer to the trade deadline and gotten more.

Now moving on to the Hurricanes this was a home run or if you wanna call it a hat-trick. They got a franchise level player for someone who wasn’t going to resign with them. Necas is a great player, but Rantanen is much better.

Many will say that his production comes from the fact that he plays with Nathan MacKinnon but I don’t think this is true. Rantanen is a great player and will help the Hurricanes this season which makes this an A for them, but this could become an A+ if they are able to re-sign him.

Along with Rantanen the Hurricanes also added Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks in the trade which is a great depth piece.

The final team that was a part of this trade was the Blackhawks retaining 50% of Rantanen’s salary while getting a third-round puck and giving Hall to the Hurricanes. The Blackhawks got nothing besides relief from Hall’s contract.

They get a third-round pick and a little over four million dollars in cap from Rantanen. They are the losers of this trade and it made no sense why they would be part of this trade.

Tristan Kunec is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email tqk5432@psu.edu.

Josh Bartosik is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jsb6137@psu.edu.

Andrew Matz is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email atm5759@psu.edu.