Last night, January 24th, is going to be remembered for a very long time by fans around the National Hockey League as we saw one of the biggest in-season trades, in terms of impact, in the history of the game.
The Carolina Hurricanes acquired Finnish star Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche in a three-team deal that involved the Chicago Blackhawks.
Along with Mikko Rantanen, the Carolina Hurricanes landed former first-overall pick Taylor Hall and unsigned prospect Nils Juntorp from Chicago, the Blackhawks retained 50% of Rantanen's contract and also got a 2025 third-round pick in the deal.
Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche acquired Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche were having some difficulty coming to an agreement on a contract extension, which led to Friday's trade so the club didn't lose him for nothing in the off-season, but there was a good chance that the Hurricanes would've gone in a different direction yesterday after negotiating with the Vancouver Canucks.
Once the dust settled last night, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman released an article on how the trade transpired and in there, he revealed that the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes were in talks all day regarding J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson.
The two clubs were discussing separate deals for Miller and Pettersson, with Friedman reporting that if the latter was dealt to Carolina, the Vancouver Canucks would've acquired Martin Necas.
With the Carolina Hurricanes now out of the running for J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, the Vancouver Canucks will have to pivot to find a trade partner for one of their two forwards, more likely the former than the latter.
Perhaps we could see talks with the New York Rangers pick up again, or a new team that needs scoring could enter the race, such as the Minnesota Wild, who may be 8th in the NHL standings overall, but they're 19th in goals for with 140 through 48 games.
POLL | ||
JANVIER 25 | 139 ANSWERS Carolina Hurricanes Steal Away 100+ Point Forward Away From the Vancouver Canucks in Blockbuster Trade Which team do you think is a better landing spot for J.T. Miller? | ||