When Mikko Rantanen showed up at Rogers Place Saturday morning, with his third different logoed equipment bag in the last six weeks — Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and now Dallas Stars — he felt right at home, joining “the Finnish mafia” as Matt Duchene joked, and they handed him his comfortable No. 96 jersey.
Without Rantanen offering up any perks, as he did in Carolina in late January after the Avs shockingly traded him there for forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury and a trio of draft picks. Rantanen gave Hurricanes centre Jack Roslovic, then wearing 96, a Rolex watch, valued at more than US$10,000, along with a keepsake custom-made 925 silver chain, handmade by a Finnish master goldsmith, for his longtime number.
“I promised him (Roslovic) the watch, so I kept the promise,” he said.
“Hopefully he’ll enjoy it.” Guess he should.
Free, expensive timepiece for six weeks and 13 games of Rantanen in Carolina.
No such thing with the Stars, in Edmonton Saturday night for a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference final, after Dallas traded young winger Logan Stankoven and two first-round draft picks to Carolina Friday to get one of the world’s best players, in concert with a new eight-year contract for, fittingly, his jersey number ($96 million).
Carolina couldn’t get the reluctant Rantanen to sign there long-term. so even though they need him for the playoff run in the East, rather than have him walk away as a free agent July 1 for nothing, swallowed hard and moved him, clearly losing the asset management portion.
“Our organization is characterized by an aggressive approach and being aggressive means taking risks,” said Canes’ GM Eric Tulsky, who traded for Rantanen, knowing they also had to convince him to sign before the March 7 deadline, as he talked to the media after only having the winger for six weeks. “If you only make moves when you’re 100 per cent sure you know exactly how it’s going to work out, you’re going to miss out one some opportunities. We knew it was a risk.”
Dallas took a big swing, knowing there’s no state income tax in Texas and more take-home pay on a contract, so they got Rantanen for cheaper than Carolina to help in the brutally tough Central division, deciding on a high-end winger at the deadline rather than a much-needed top-four defenceman to go with the injured Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell.
“A lot of Finns on this team, which makes the transition easier,” said Rantanen, who did have Sebastian Aho in Carolina, but has Heiskanen and fellow defenceman Lindell, centre Roope Hintz and forward Mikael Granlund to lean on in Dallas. “I also played against them a lot, so familiar faces.”
How does he feel, his head spinning, with a second trade in six weeks after the Avs swapped him to Carolina Jan. 24, feeling they couldn’t give then UFA right-winger Rantanen more than centre and Hart Trophy winner Nate MacKinnon’s $100.8 million over eight years, with a $12.6 million AAV.
“This is different, with the new contract. Now I know it’ll be here for a long time, mentally it’s better for me, for sure,” said Rantanen, 28, who started the Oilers game with countryman Hintz and Jason Robertson after he played for Finland in the Feb. 4 Nations tournament with Florida captain Alexander Barkov and Avs’ winger Artturi Lehkonen.
“The last 48 hours was crazy, not a lot of sleep, lots of being on the phone. There’s always talks and rumours going around and it happens quick. I’m glad it’s over. Dallas beat us last year in the second round when I was with the Avs. Lots of good players, deep team. I played against them a lot, being in the same division in Colorado. I battled them and they were enemies, now they’re not. They have been very close the last two years to get to the finals,” said Rantanen, not quite ready to put the Stars in the “we” and “us” category in conversation, but that will come.
Stars’ coach Pete DeBoer, who was on Jon Cooper’s Canadian team staff at the 4 Nations, has also coached countless games against Rantanen when he was head coach in San Jose and Vegas, in the west, with Rantanen winning a Stanley Cup in Colorado in 2022.
“Obviously very excited to have him. I saw more than enough of Mikko from the opposing bench. It feels like we’ve played him every year in the playoffs. I’ve admired his game for a long time,” said DeBoer.
“But I don’t think ever let your mind go there until it happens, because so many things can derail those sort of deals,” said DeBoer.
“My first conversation about getting Mikko was probably at 6 a.m. yesterday with Jim (GM Nill), where he said it was a possibility. But at one point during the day, it seemed like it wouldn’t happen. As soon as it was final, yeah, I got my napkin out and started writing down line combinations and power play units.”
“Our Finnish connection was a big part of this. I’m not sure you sign with a team for eight years, sight unseen, unless you’re comfortable. He spent two weeks with the Finnish guys at the 4 Nations and they’re close,” said DeBoer.
DeBoer knows how good Rantanen, with 687 points in 632 league games and 101 points in 81 playoff games, is. He was an elite, often unstoppable and immovable force with MacKinnon and Cale Makar in Colorado, and against the Oilers Saturday, pitted against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Tons of star power.
“You can count on two hands the guys who are on that list in this league and to actually go out and get one, that’s something” said DeBoer.
“We’ve got guys who are around that but when guys like Rantanen are available … I think Jim said it best: you have to take a really hard look at going after that guy.”
“I give Jim a ton of credit. It’s easy for a coach to give up first-round picks and prospects from where we sit. It’s a different story where Jim sits. It’s testament to what he feels about our group,” said DeBoer, who knew Nill had money to work with because Heiskanen and Tyler Seguin were on long-term injury, with both back for the playoffs.
“I think Mikko will hit the ground running with us. He’s jumping in with both feet. From just talking to him, he’s got a great hockey IQ,” said DeBoer.
The numbers just didn’t work in Carolina, on the ice and at the negotiation table. He only had two goals and six points in 13 games, and the Hurricanes couldn’t get him signed. The Stars are deeper offensively, used the no-state-tax to advantage to get him to agree to $12 million AAV, and he’s maybe more comfortable being back with a Western Conference team.
The Friday trade was a perfect storm for the Stars.
“You’re in Carolina without a contract and you’re looking at all the angles, not just what happens on the ice. Carolina is a very good team and I enjoyed my time there. I had friends there, too. It wasn’t an easy decision. Maybe, looking at it, Dallas is a better fit for me,” said Rantanen.
Even if the Stars could play the Avs in the first round of the playoffs.
“That would be weird, for sure. First time I play against them it’ll be that way, probably the second and third time, too. I spent 10 years in that organization, lots of good friends, coaches, staff. Hopefully it gets better,” said Rantanen.
“The game’s not played on paper as we all know, other teams have loaded up as well. You still have to go out and do it but at the same time the table’s set now for us to do something,” said Stars centre Duchene, who played with Rantanen in Colorado.