The Carolina Hurricanes Mikko Rantanen saga was quite an ordeal over the past week, finally concluding with him being traded to the Dallas Stars for Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round picks on Friday afternoon. The Stars immediately signed Rantanen to a new eight-year contract extension.
But before they dealt him to Dallas, they reportedly tried to move him to the Toronto Maple Leafs and asked for one of their top stars in return.
That star happened to be forward Mitch Marner.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Nick Kypreos, the Maple Leafs initially pitched an offer to Carolina that included young players, prospects and multiple first-round picks.
The Hurricanes then countered by asking for Marner, who like Rantanen, is one of the game’s best offensive players. He is also eligible for unrestricted free agency.
The twist in this story is that the Maple Leafs did not immediately reject the offer, and instead went to Marner to ask him if he would have any interest in waiving his no-movement clause for Carolina.
Marner reportedly declined, setting the stage for Rantanen to end up in Dallas.
The fact Toronto took the offer seriously enough to even approach Marner is a testament to how much they wanted Rantanen. Marner has been one of the Maple Leafs’ core players for the past eight years and is one of the league’s most dynamic playmakers. But his long-term future in Toronto remains in doubt, not only because of his pending free agency status, but because the Maple Leafs core — which also includes Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander — has consistently failed in the playoffs.
Another failure in the first-round this season could have major ramifications on if the Maple Leafs want to re-sign Marner and Tavares.
The other twist in this is whether or not the Maple Leafs approaching Marner about a trade will impact his contract negotiations with the team after the season. He has been blindly loyal to the Maple Leafs, but may not take kindly to the realization they considered trading him, even for somebody as good as Rantanen.
The Hurricanes had previously acquired Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche this season with the hopes of making a Stanley Cup run and potentially re-signing him. But Rantanen never seemed to be a fit with the team and was not willing to re-sign there. Instead of risking losing him for nothing, Carolina traded him for a haul of draft picks and a rising star in Stankoven.
Marner, however, would have been an equally big risk in terms of long-term outlook given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent.
Toronto’s trade deadline moves saw it acquire center Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers and defenseman Brandon Carlo from the Boston Bruins.
The Hurricanes did not make any other major moves before the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline on Friday afternoon. They still have one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and should still be a major contender for the Stanley Cup.
