Carolina, Dallas have framework for Mikko Rantanen trade
Late-night, early-morning trade deadline quickie blog:
• The biggest news is that Carolina and Dallas have the framework of a trade that would send Mikko Rantanen to Texas. After the two teams agreed on the particulars, the Stars began negotiations on an extension with the winger. Getting that done — or close enough to it that Dallas is comfortable — will be critical to completing the trade.
One of the reasons Dallas pursued Rantanen is the belief he’d be willing to sign there. But nothing is done until it is done.
Obviously, everyone wants to know who’s involved. But both teams are tight with details in case it goes sideways.
Sportsnet’s hockey news breakers, analysts and reporters will have coast-to-coast coverage of all the moves made ahead of this season’s NHL trade deadline. Full coverage on March 7 begins at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
• Brock Nelson is en route to Colorado, filling the second centre slot behind Nathan MacKinnon. The Islanders received a first-round pick and a big-time prospect (Calum Ritchie) for this seemingly perfect Avalanche fit. Among the disappointed: New Jersey, Toronto, Washington and Winnipeg — that competition allowing New York to drive up the acquisition cost.
What to watch for on Deadline Friday:
• Toronto. The Maple Leafs aren’t sure they want to go where St. Louis wishes for Brayden Schenn. Possible they pivot back to Scott Laughton. They are also considering defensive help and may have to move money out to make it all work.
• Winnipeg. The Jets were in on Nelson, so we’re waiting to see Plan B. Could see them re-uniting with old friend Brandon Tanev. He was held out of Seattle’s game in Nashville on Thursday. Tanev signed in Manitoba out of Providence College in 2016. They are also believed to be looking at one, if not two, defencemen.
• Philadelphia. The Flyers made it very clear that a first-rounder (or a prospect of similar value) is required to remove Laughton from their premises.
• Brad Marchand. We never thought we’d see the day, but it is possible the Bruins move him. He might not be back until right before the playoffs, which could mean a more conditional-style return, but there was lots of noise around him on Thursday. There are a few different ways this could go. Extension talks hit a stalemate — with the reminder one call can change everything.
It’s 2:59 am. Time for bed, see you later.
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Report: Dallas Stars Have Framework for Mikko Rantanen Trade, Pending Contract Extension
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Mikko Rantanen was a member of the Avalanche six weeks ago before suddenly being dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes. And according to the latest reports, he’s heading back to the Western Conference as a member of the Dallas Stars before Friday’s trade deadline.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported late Thursday night that talks were intensifying between the Hurricanes and Stars to ship the Finnish forward to Colorado’s Central Division rival. Hours later, Friedman said that a framework of a deal was agreed to between both clubs, with a possible contract extension coming in the early morning hours.
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Report: Dallas Stars Have Framework for Mikko Rantanen Trade, Pending Contract Extension
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Oliver Kylington’s stay with the New York Islanders was as brief as it gets.
Immediately after going to the Islanders in the trade that sent Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche, Kylington was moved to the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations. Kylington will report to Anaheim.
Kylington, 27, played in 13 games with the Avalanche this season, registering one goal and three assists with a minus-3 rating at even strength on Colorado’s blue line. The Swedish defenseman signed a one-year contract with the Avalanche for $1.05 million last August.
Originally a second-round pick by Calgary in 2015, Kylington’s best season came in 2021-22 where he had nine goals and 22 assists in 73 games with the Flames. He also had a goal and two assists in 12 playoff games before not playing in 2022-23 or the first part of 2023-24 to address his mental health.
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The Colorado Avalanche have acquired veteran forward Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders, the teams announced Thursday night ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline.
The 33-year-old has scored at a 35-goal pace over the past three seasons. He was No. 2 on The Athletic’s latest trade board.
The Avalanche sent top prospect Calum Ritchie to the Islanders in the deal, as well as a future first-round pick. The Islanders retained half of Nelson’s $6 million cap hit.
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Islanders trade Brock Nelson to Avalanche for Calum Ritchie, first-round pick
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The Boston Bruins are acquiring center Marat Khusnutdinov, center Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Justin Brazeau, the team announced.
Read more below:
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Bruins acquiring Marat Khusnutdinov, Jakub Lauko from Wild for Justin Brazeau
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Brock Nelson is expected to be traded by the New York Islanders before Friday’s deadline, a league source told The Athletic on Thursday night.
Islanders general manager and president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello made his last pitch on a contract extension Thursday for the 33-year-old Nelson, who ranks fourth in franchise history with 901 games played and fifth with 289 goals. Nelson declined, and the eventual outcome will almost certainly be a trade. As many as seven teams are reportedly vying to acquire him. He ranks No. 2 on The Athletic’s most recent NHL trade board.
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Islanders expected to trade Brock Nelson ahead of NHL deadline: Source
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San Jose Sharks defenseman Jake Walman and forward Luke Kunin are healthy scratches against the Colorado Avalanche. The two are expected to be moved by Friday’s trade deadline.
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The Seattle Kraken are holding out left winger Brandon Tanev for roster management purposes against Nashville tonight. Tanev is one of the likeliest players in the NHL to get moved between now and tomorrow’s 3 p.m. deadline and is currently No. 8 on our NHL trade board.
The last time Reilly Smith donned a Golden Knights jersey, he was strolling around the ice at T-Mobile Arena with the Stanley Cup hoisted above his head on June 13, 2023. Smith scored the Cup-clinching goal that night, paraded the trophy down the Las Vegas Strip, and was traded away shortly after as a salary cap casualty.
Following Thursday’s trade from New York to Vegas, he’ll be trying to help the Golden Knights do it again.
Vegas sent 2020 first-round pick Brendan Brisson and a third-round pick in 2025 to the Rangers in exchange for Smith. New York retained half of Smith’s cap hit in the deal, meaning he’ll only count $937,500 toward the cap for the Golden Knights.
It’s a sentimental homecoming for Smith, his teammates and fans across the Las Vegas Valley. The 33-year-old winger has played the fifth-most games (399) and scored the third-most goals (124) in franchise history. He’s one of the original “Golden Misfits,” acquired from Florida during the 2017 expansion draft.
Smith has played for six different NHL teams, but over his six years with the Golden Knights he regularly referred to Las Vegas as home for he and his family. He started an annual celebrity softball game that has since raised more than $850,000 for local charities.
From a vibes standpoint, this trade is perfection. There may not be a (reasonably available) player in the league who the Golden Knights would rather see walking through those dressing room doors than the former alternate captain who helped them win a Cup. Even when removing the emotion, the trade makes a lot of sense for Vegas.
Read more below for why Vegas brought back a franchise legend.
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Why the Golden Knights brought Reilly Smith back to Vegas
Most scouts are already with their NHL GMs in their respective cities preparing for tomorrow. Flyers’ entire (or at least most) of their pro scouting staff are here in Philadelphia tonight, and were on Tuesday too.
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The Sabres once again made defenseman Henri Jokiharju a healthy scratch tonight. The 25-year old right-handed defenseman has been out of the lineup the last four games. The Sabres haven’t explicitly said he’s being held out for trade reasons, but Jokiharju is a pending unrestricted free agent and a change of scenery before the trade deadline would serve him well. He had a decent showing for Team Finland at the 4 Nations Faceoff and could fill a depth role for a team that needs another right shot on the blue line. His role has been inconsistent this season because Lindy Ruff has urged him to play with more physicality. Jason Zucker, another pending unrestricted free agent, is also not in the lineup for the Sabres, but he’s dealing with an injury. The team is still trying to get Zucker, 33, signed to a contract extension, but the clock is ticking.
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Jim Montgomery on where the Blues go from losing star defenseman Colton Parayko:
“We’re not going to replace him. That being said, the feeling in our room right now, it just continues to build. Being able to win a game on the road in LA, how we did it, they’re continuing to build the trust, respect, care and love that’s building within our group.
“If you would’ve asked me this a month ago ,I’d say I don’t know how we can recover. But we’re going to push through and it’s going to be the next man up mentality you have to have. We have a lot of confidence in our D core to share the minutes that Parayko gave us.”
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John Tortorella starts both Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen in the Flyers’ final game before the trade deadline.
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We’ve updated our article with more Blackhawks intel from Mark Lazarus as the trade deadline gets closer, highlighted by the latest on Ryan Donato’s status:
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What we’re hearing about the Blackhawks at the NHL trade deadline
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Carson Soucy is a solid defenseman.
Yes, he’s had an inconsistent season season, but there’s a reason that career years for goalies have followed him around. Great stick, reliable, decent offensively once he’s in-zone.
The Canucks needed the extra cap space to pursue attacking options, but he’ll help the Rangers.
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The Rangers flipped the pick they got earlier in the day for Reilly Smith to acquire Soucy, who has another year on his contract at a $3.25 million cap hit. The 30-year-old has had a tough season for Vancouver and has been a healthy scratch at points, but he’s been a productive player in the past and played on a pair with Will Borgen in Seattle. New York is hoping for him to fit well on a new team, much like Borgen has after coming over from Seattle earlier this season.
The Rangers could put Soucy with Adam Fox (upper body) when the top defenseman is healthy, or they could opt to move K’Andre Miller up to the top pair and reunite Soucy with Borgen. Peter Laviolette could also try to use him as a third-pair defenseman. He has long reach and is sharp defensively but struggled in a top-four role without a puck-moving partner in Vancouver this season.
The Soucy addition could also lead the Rangers to consider moving out Zac Jones, who has been a healthy scratch for stretches this season but, with Fox out, has played more than 18 minutes in each of New York’s past three games.
New York has conceded that this is not a year to pursue rentals who will walk in free agency. This trade adds to the roster — which is pushing for a playoff spot — and also gives the team a player that will be around for at least next season, too.
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Canucks trade defenseman Carson Soucy to Rangers for third-round pick: Source
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The third-round pick in the Carson Soucy deal is the earlier of two New York Rangers third-round picks, the 2025 third-round pick that originally belonged to the San Jose Sharks. There is no salary retention involved in the trade.
After an excellent showing in his first Canucks season, Soucy struggled this year – especially when tasked with playing a top-four, matchup role. The club made him available to all 31 other NHL member clubs in a leaguewide memo in early February, following the acquisition of Marcus Pettersson.
Despite his inconsistency, and some evident frustration from the Canucks coaching staff about Soucy’s lack of effectiveness and fire, Canucks management remained high on Soucy throughout the campaign. With a logjam on defense, one that’s likely to be exacerbated following the conclusion of Tom Willander’s sophomore season at Boston University, the club decided to prioritize reallocating his $3.25 million cap hit – which extends through the 2025-26 campaign — in an effort to bolster Vancouver’s struggling offensive attack.
The Canucks should be expected to be somewhat busy over the next 24 hours as they attempt to execute a hybrid, forward-looking approach at the deadline. The club remains active in the market, as both a seller of rental players — with Brock Boeser being the highest profile of the club’s pending unrestricted free agents — and as a potential buyer of younger players with term remaining on their deal.
Scott Laughton (No. 5 on our latest trade board) and Rasmus Ristolainen (No. 11) are both on the ice for warmups. They’re playing tonight as the Flyers host Winnipeg.
The Montreal Canadiens continue to listen on pending UFAs David Savard and Joel Armia, but my sense is that they don’t plan on moving both. Maybe one if a team steps up, but not both.
They don’t want to send that kind of message to their players, who are fighting hard to stay in the playoff race. And I mean, the last thing the Habs need is another fourth-round draft pick, so, when I say a team would have to step up to grab Armia or Savard, they really would have to.
In the meantime, Habs GM Kent Hughes has continued to make calls looking around for a potential hockey deal — a player (did I say center?) who could help them now and longer-term, as well. Easier said than done in-season. Those are more apt to happen in June. But those conversations happening now could help plant seeds for the off-season.
Can confirm that it’s Carson Soucy to the New York Rangers for a 2025 third-round pick, the pick that originally belonged to the San Jose Sharks, a team source tells The Athletic.
By Peter Baugh, Arthur Staple and Chris Johnston
The New York Rangers have acquired defenseman Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks, sources tell The Athletic, with a third-round pick (originally belonging to San Jose) heading back to Vancouver.
Soucy was No. 6 on The Athletic’s latest NHL trade board. He is a prototypical shutdown defender who has performed well in the playoffs for the Canucks and during his previous stop in Seattle. As a bonus, the left shot is comfortable playing on either side of the ice.
