Toronto Maple Leafs miss out on Mikko Rantanen sweepstakes
The Toronto Maple Leafs may make a big move or two ahead of the NHL trade deadline, but it’ll be one deal they didn’t make that might catch the most headlines.
Mikko Rantanen, who was originally traded earlier this season from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes, suddenly became one of the hottest commodities at this year’s deadline after he failed to reach a long-term contract extension with his new team.
And though the Leafs were first linked to Rantanen on Wednesday night from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, it appears that the Finnish winger will be headed to the Dallas Stars.
Multiple reporters suggested that the negotiations had heated up on Thursday night. Though there were ongoing talks about whether he would end up signing a multi-year extension, it appears he’ll be sticking around long-term on an eight-year, US$96 million deal per Friedman.
He is currently in the final year of a six-year deal with a cap hit of US$9.25 million, though his current cap hit is just US$4.63 million because the Chicago Blackhawks are retaining 50 per cent of the contract via the three-team trade.
Mikko Rantanen and the Dallas Stars are closing in on an extension
8 years, $12M AAV. Would get the deal done.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 7, 2025
“Among the teams believed to be very interested are Toronto, Dallas, and Los Angeles — although that’s a ridiculously incomplete list,” Friedman had written earlier this week about the Leafs’ now-futile interest in the 28-year-old star.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie had also suggested Toronto as a possible destination for Rantanen in free agency should he have ended up there this summer.
Rantanen was reportedly blindsided by the late-January trade that saw him move away from the NHL team, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and had spent his entire career since being taken 10th overall in the 2015 draft.
In 12 games with the Hurricanes, Rantanen has put up two goals and four assists for six points.
Across his NHL career, he’s put up 289 goals and 398 assists for 687 points in 631 games. He’s coming off of back-to-back 100+ point seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24, putting up 105 and 104 points across each of the past two years.