It seems like ages ago when the alteration of four franchises took place. But a year later, the Mikko Rantanen trade has come to fruition.

On this day one year ago, the unthinkable happened when the Colorado Avalanche dealt him. He went through the Chicago Blackhawks’ system, as they facilitated the move with the Carolina Hurricanes.

In return, the Avs got Rantanen’s replacement in the form of Martin Necas, along with Jack Drury and two draft picks in the second round in 2025 and a fourth-rounder in 2026. Chicago got picks while retaining 50% of Rantanen’s salary. The Canes got Rantanen along with Taylor Hall.

How the trade affected Colorado

When the trade call happened that Friday evening, it shook the hockey world to its core. A dramatic change from Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland left people scratching their heads, and Rantanen’s crew stunned.

One of Colorado’s best players in franchise history was gone just like that. With the Avs unable to budge and agree with Rantanen, thinking about $14+ million, they had to find value while they could.

They had to think about the return of Gabriel Landeskog and how it’d affect the cap. Plus, they had to think ahead about re-signing Cale Makar. They had to think about how to fit Nathan MacKinnon’s new contract in with everything, too. Finally, they had to consider different moves they’d end up making in acquiring Brock Nelson and fitting in deals for Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood.

Rantanen’s time in the Mile High City and its surprising end seemed as if it wouldn’t have a ton of effect with him on the East Coast. But that was before his second move of the season, another stunning one from the Hurricanes to the Dallas Stars.


With the Finnish forward not wanting to call Raleigh home for the long term, Carolina had to deal him to get value out of him again. It just so happened he ended up back in the Central Division with the Avs’ biggest rival, the Dallas Stars.

With Dallas being competitive and having no tax, Rantanen’s crew could get an extension in place along with the trade. Therefore, Rantanen will be in a Stars uniform for the next eight years, settling in at $12 million. From there, that’s where the trade became more troublesome for Colorado. With questions at the time surrounding Necas and Drury, they might’ve seen themselves on the short end of the stick.

Since then, particularly this season, Colorado has found life to be very nice atop the Central Division. Drury and Necas have delivered, with the latter of those two filling in the shoes Rantanen left behind superbly.

How the trade affected Dallas

Dallas had little to worry about with the first move of Rantanen. If anything, they saw Colorado lose a star and a chance to take control of the division. But the second trade was a big one, as they moved on from Logan Stankoven along with four draft picks.

Rantanen’s start in Dallas wasn’t the hottest and most memorable. He played back in Colorado for the first time just a week after joining the team. Dallas lost the game in overtime.

However, he would ramp it up when the postseason started. Of course, everyone remembers his first-round heroics to beat the Avs with a hat trick in a Game Seven comeback win. His comments about wanting to jam it down their throats didn’t go over too kindly, either.

He continued staying hot against the Winnipeg Jets in the next round, which included a hat-trick in Game One, making it back-to-back games with a hat-trick. But he and his side fell short against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final.

Since then, Rantanen has settled into Dallas, averaging over a point a game so far. He has found himself in some trouble with penalties and hits, stirring things up. But he is still a force to be reckoned with for the next eight years in the division, something Avalanche fans surely aren’t too pleased with.

How the move affected Carolina

Carolina was probably the one team that got the bad end of the deal in both moves. They lost some center depth in Drury and a young star in Necas. Even though they got Rantanen, the organization was told it was unlikely they’d be able to keep him.

With the news, they had to trade him and got only Stankoven. A big move to ultimately have him for only 13 games and six points was a tremendous disappointment. From Carolina’s perspective, they wanted to avoid a similar situation they had with Jake Guentzel and his eventual move to the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency.

Nonetheless, Carolina has figured things out and is still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Whether Rantanen was going to get them over the hump is hindsight 20/20 now. But it was certainly disappointing to miss out on keeping hold of a big star while giving up a lot to get him. But it doesn’t mean the fans have forgotten, booing him in his first game back in North Carolina earlier this month.

How the move affected Chicago

Almost everybody forgets the Blackhawks were the third team to facilitate the trade and make it happen. While they got some draft picks from Carolina for it, the fact that they also gave up Hall was puzzling.

Hall has been solid in Carolina, now part of a competitor rather than a rebuilding team. Chicago ultimately is still in the process of trying to build to compete, and the move didn’t have as much effect on them as the other three teams involved since then in the last year, with Rantanen’s cap hit from his last contract no longer on their books.

Where do teams stand one year later?

As shocking as the move was, all teams involved won. Dallas got their guy for the next eight years and can try to terrorize Colorado with their former 10th overall pick in Rantanen.

Carolina is still competitive and one of the best teams out East. Chicago, while still being Chicago, has more draft capital to help it build for the future and be competitive around Connor Bedard.

Meanwhile, Colorado arguably got better. Necas has been brilliant and has just about matched what Rantanen delivered in terms of points. He is currently on track for a career high and will be an Av for the next eight years at $11.5 million. Drury has blossomed into a solid third-line center, increasing the depth the Avs lacked before.


However, it might take years to see how the trade will truly affect the teams involved. While it was certainly heartbreaking to see Rantanen take out his former team last year, the Avalanche have gotten the best of him – and everybody – in the entire NHL this season.

Colorado and Dallas are surely on another collision course to meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs again if all goes right. This time, they’d likely play in the second round. Ultimately, it might be the number of Cups the Avs and Stars win in the next eight years to see just how valuable and impactful the trades end up being.

Nonetheless, one year later, it’s still jarring and shocking to see Rantanen in the Stars’ green. But for the Avalanche, they haven’t come away from it too badly in the end. It will be an extremely close and intense duel for the rest of the 2020s, all shaped up by a historic move one year ago.