This in from several NHL insiders, word that the Carolina Hurricanes might be looking to move out newly-acquired Mikko Rantanen.
Would the Edmonton make sense for both Rantanen and for the Oilers?
I first heard the rumour on Thursday from Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now.
“And now I’m gonna throw the curve ball for the fans,” he said. “Here we go. (Top winger) Jake Guentzel was acquired by which team last year for the stretch run and then did not re-sign there? The Carolina Hurricanes. What happens if (Carolina owner) Tom Dundon and Carolina can’t get a commitment out of Mika Rantanen at the deadline? Do they trade him again?.., I don’t know. Carolina has a ton of cap space. They’re a well-run team. They totally understand analytics and all that kind of stuff. What happens if they can’t get (the contract) done? Do they turn around and flip him at the deadline and try to retain some draft capital and a young player back or something? Remember, the Chicago Blackhawks kindly are retaining half the money on Rantanen’s deal. Though Carolina did take all of Taylor Hall, who’s been okay in Carolina? What do you think?”
On Friday, NHL insider Nick Kypreos came out with similar speculation. On his Kyper & Bourne podcast, Kypreos got into his trade rumours segment, saying the Rantanen rumour is the hottest one our there, even as he was just traded to Carolina two weeks ago. “And yet, I won’t take him off my (trade) list…”
Carolina doesn’t want to risk losing Rantanen like they lost Guentzel. “That’s the word I’m getting is that they were willing to make this trade, but I’m not sure they were willing to watch another top player walk out the door for nothing, especially when you consider that (Martin) Necas is a very good hockey player who had another year at $6.5 million. That’s a heck of an asset with tremendous value and then end up with nothing again. So that’s the theory behind that. As of this week, my understanding is that there’s no significant ground or talks about Rantanen signing in Carolina just yet. I mean, anything can change at any moment, but it’s going to take a big number for Carolina to lock this guy down.”
My take
- Dare to dream. Stranger things have most definitely happened than Rantanen getting traded again. The fear of losing Rantanen like they lost Guentzel could well push Carolina to act now rather than later, especially if they had in mind signing Rantanen long-term, not as a rental player for the 2025 Stanley Cup run.
- As for Rantanen coming to the Oilers, It’s hard to imagine where the Edmonton would have the assets to outbid other NHL teams for Rantanen just now. Other teams will have more assets to give up and more cap space in the years to come to sign up Rantanen long-erm. It was took a massive upheaval of the Oilers roster to find room for Rantanen, who will demand $12 to $15 million per year on a new long term deal.
- Rantanen would most likely be just a rental for the Oilers, meaning Edmonton would be outbid for him by teams with major cap space and far more picks and prospects to throw around in a trade.
- All that said, if Carolina tries to move out Rantanen in such public fashion, he’s a distressed asset. There’s blood in the water. The sharks will circle. There may only be one or two teams where Rantanen is willing to commit to signing long-term, which will greatly shrink the market for him. Perhaps Carolina can only move him as a rental. The Oilers might be in play then, say giving up Evander Kane and Jeff Skinner (if Skinner is willing to move) and a prospect for Rantanen. Kane has huge value as a trade chip if he can come back ONLY for the playoffs, because his $5.1 million cap space won’t count against the cap. A team could use that space to bring in more useful players at the trade deadline with that cap space.
At the Cult of Hockey
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