Mikko Rantanen began the 2024-25 NHL season as a member of the Colorado Avalanche and he’s going to end it with the Dallas Stars.
That’s not uncommon in sports. Athletes move teams all the time in season via trades, usually often at the trade deadline. However, where things differ with Rantanen is that he was traded not once this past season … but twice!
Back in January 2025, Rantanen was surprisingly dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes in a massive three-way trade that involved the Chicago Blackhawks. It was already a bit of a shocker to see the Avalanche move on from one of their core pieces, but a big reason why Rantanen was dealt in the first place was due to contract negotiations.
Rantanen came into the 2024-25 season on the final year of a six-year contract and was going to get a pretty big pay bump considering the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Reports suggest that Rantanen didn’t want to leave Colorado and was willing to find a middle ground on a contract extension, but the Avalanche traded him instead of working things out.
Talks about Rantanen’s impending contract extension followed him to Carolina too. It didn’t help that Rantanen posted just two goals and six points in 13 games played with the Hurricanes either. But, as the trade deadline loomed, rumors swirled as to whether or not Rantanen would be traded again by the deadline, as reports emerged that he didn’t want to sign an extension in Carolina.
Enter the Stars.
A mere 24 hours before the trade deadline, rumblings between Rantanen and the Stars came to light. The deal took a long time to get done due to — surprise, surprise — extension talks, but eventually Rantanen signed with the Stars, which included an eight-year extension that kicks in this summer.
Since then, Rantanen has set the Stanley Cup Playoffs on fire. As of Tuesday, he holds the lead for points (18) and goals (9) in the playoffs and is one of the favorites for the Conn Smythe by postseason’s end.