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Edmonton Oilers made huge push to trade for Rantanen: report

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Mar 8 2025, 6:48 pm
Edmonton Oilers made huge push to trade for Rantanen: report
David Kirouac/Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers made a serious push to acquire the best player available heading into the trade deadline.

While several great players were expected to be on the move going into yesterday’s deadline, the top target fans had their eye on was Mikko Rantanen. The 28-year-old didn’t seem to be interested in signing an extension in Raleigh, causing speculation that he would be traded for the second time in just over a month.

It wound up being the Dallas Stars who won the sweepstakes, acquiring the Finnish winger from the Hurricanes in exchange for Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks. What many didn’t realize at the time was that the Oilers, another top contender in the Western Conference, also made an effort to acquire him.

As reported by TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, the Oilers made a huge push to trade for Rantanen. They were also reportedly willing to sign him to an extension bigger than the eight-year, $96 million deal he ended up inking with the Stars.

“Oilers took a huge swing yesterday,” Rishaug tweeted. “Sources say Rantanen had interest in coming to Edmonton and things were well down the path of an extension being agreed to. [Money] was north of what Dallas signed him for. In the end, the trade assets weren’t there to get it done.”

Rantanen, despite struggling during his short tenure with the ‘Canes, has been one of the NHL’s most productive forwards for several seasons. He’s recorded north of 100 points in each of the past two seasons, and sits with 70 through 62 games in 2024-25.

Rishaug also mentioned that the Oilers looked into Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato as well as Pittsburgh Penguins sniper Rickard Rakell.

The Blackhawks opted to hold onto Donato and are now discussing an extension with him, while Rakell, who is under contract through 2027-28, remains with the Penguins.

The Oilers were quiet on deadline day, but were able to make additions earlier in the week, acquiring Trent Frederic and Max Jones from the Boston Bruins, as well as defenceman Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks. The moves make them a better team, but may not push them over the edge the way Rantanen would have.

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