Hurricanes have met Rantanen’s demands. The ball (puck?) is in his court (net?) now
When the Carolina Hurricanes traded for Mikko Rantanen, they knew what his contract demands were. They made the deal in full knowledge of that, with the salary-cap space set aside to meet them. They’ve now made it clear to him they’re ready to do just that.
So with less than two weeks to go until the NHL trade deadline, it’s entirely up to the Finnish star whether he wants to commit to the Hurricanes or not.
During the two-week break in the NHL schedule for the 4 Nations Tournament, a delegation from the Hurricanes met with Rantanen and his representatives to formally convey their offer, believed to be worth in the neighborhood of $13 million a year for the maximum eight years. (Efforts to reach Rantanen’s agent, Andy Scott, for comment were unsuccessful.)
Which is to say: They are not working the margins here. They aren’t looking for an edge the way the Hurricanes typically do, and did contract after contract with Martin Necas and Teuvo Teravainen. This is not a Jake Guentzel situation, where the Hurricanes failed to meet his initial asking price. They knew what they were getting into and they’re willing to give Rantanen a deal worth more than $100 million.
The Colorado Avalanche couldn’t make that figure work, which is why Rantanen was even available for the Hurricanes. But having given up Necas and Jack Drury, the Hurricanes aren’t in a position to let Rantanen walk after the season when he becomes a free agent on July 1. So if Rantanen decides he’d rather not sign now, it will be incumbent upon the Hurricanes to get something for him while they still can before March 7.
That would be a tremendous disappointment to the Hurricanes — the Rantanen deal was the big swoop for a star Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has been trying to make since he bought the team in 2018 — but they can’t risk being left with nothing.
We’re also not there yet.
It’s entirely understandable if Rantanen is hesitant to make an immediate long-term commitment to a franchise and a town he barely knows after spending his entire NHL career to date in one place. He’s going to get paid this summer wherever he is, here or elsewhere — although there’s no guarantee a Stanley Cup contender is going to have the money like the Hurricanes do now.
As was the case with Seth Jarvis over the summer, there are specific points of pressure that tend to lead to resolutions in contract negotiations. At the moment, for Rantanen, there are none. There’s also no reason why he has to decide today, or tomorrow, or this weekend.
Which is fine. Of the month he’s been with the Hurricanes, the team has been on the road for six of nine games, on break for two weeks and dealing with illness for almost all of that time. It would be hard for anyone to get a great sense of what it’s like to play and live here under those circumstances. Has even tried a Burnzie Bowl? Let alone a Cook Out tray?
Rantanen, meanwhile, hasn’t exactly set the league on fire since arriving — one goal and two assists in nine games – which might have accelerated the process, and his ice time is slightly down from what it was in Colorado, a function of the Hurricanes being less top-heavy at forward than the Avalanche, which would get Rantanen and Nathan McKinnon out on the ice at every opportunity. Then again, the team hasn’t exactly looked like the powerhouse it can be at times, especially coming out of the 4 Nations with limp efforts in Toronto and Montreal.
It’s not hard to understand why Rantanen might need a moment.
By the time the Hurricanes do need a decision from Rantanen, he’ll have had more time to acclimate to the area, and absorb not only the Hurricanes’ front-office pitch but that of Finnish teammates Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. And the Hurricanes aren’t out testing the trade market for Rantanen yet, either; that’s a bridge they’ll burn if they get to it.
They’re all-in on Rantanen. Now it’s up to him whether he’s all-in on the Hurricanes.
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This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Hurricanes have met Rantanen’s demands. The ball (puck?) is in his court (net?) now."
