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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NHL
NHL Trade Buzz: Rantanen ‘still here’ with Hurricanes as Deadline approaches
Panthers add Sturm from Sharks; Mrazek could be dealt by Blackhawks; Laughton ponders future with Flyers
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Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are less than 24 hours remaining until the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET; Friday). Here’s a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:
Mikko Rantanen, who the Hurricanes acquired from the Colorado Avalanche as part of a three-team deal with the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24, could be on the move again before the Deadline.
But Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Thursday the focus is on the team and their game against the Boston Bruins at Lenovo Center (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, NESN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS).
“Try not to watch too much about it,” Brind’Amour said. “I know obviously, everyone’s talking about it. He’s here, he was out there this morning, so I’m assuming he’ll be here tonight and go at it.”
Rantanen was not made available to Hurricanes media following their skate.
The 28-year-old is in the final season of the six-year, $55.5 million contract ($9.25 million average annual value) he signed with the Avalanche on Sept. 28, 2019, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Rantanen, who had 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games with Colorado prior to the trade, has six points (two goals, four assists) in 12 games with the Hurricanes.
“Yeah, would love to have him. That’s why we went and got him,” Brind’Amour said of Rantanen post-deadline. “As far as my concern, I’m coaching this team right now as if he’s here until they tell me he’s not.”
Nico Sturm was traded to the Florida Panthers from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Thursday.
The Panthers also received San Jose’s seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
The 29-year-old center has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 47 games for the Sharks this season. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in 22 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, and was a member of the Avalanche Stanley Cup championship team in 2022.
Sturm, who was undrafted, has 91 points (46 goals, 45 assists) in 316 career games with the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Sharks.
Also Thursday, the Panthers acquired goalie Kaapo Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for goalie Chris Driedger.
The Sturm deal was the second trade the Panthers and Sharks have made in the past two days. With the trade for Kahkonen, the defending Stanley Cup champions have made four trades in the past week to bolster their chances for a repeat.
On Wednesday, they acquired goalie Vitek Vanecek from the Sharks for forward Patrick Giles. On March 1, they acquired defenseman Seth Jones and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Chicago Blackhawks for goaltender Spencer Knight and a first-round pick in 2026.
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Scott Laughton is aware that he could be playing for the Flyers for the final time when they play the Winnipeg Jets at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, TSN3), but the forward was approaching the day as usual.
“With all the rumors and stuff, maybe it feels a bit more real this year. Whatever happens, happens,” Laughton said Thursday. “It hasn’t happened, and it might not happen, it may happen, so it’s hard. Definitely think about what’s to come for us and everything like that. Just trying to stay in the moment.”
Laughton is in the fourth of a five-year, $15 million contract ($3 million average annual value) he signed with the Flyers on April 12, 2021. He has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 59 games this season for the Flyers (27-27-8), who are five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card into the playoffs from the East.
The 30-year-old said he sees the trade rumors in his social media feeds, “so I’m pretty aware of it.”
“I think it’s nice to be aware of it and to know what’s out there, even if they are just rumors, just to know where you’re at. It’s your life at the end of the day. But status quo,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything and I’m getting prepared to play a game and get two big points for our team. We’re still fighting and still going so I’m excited for tonight and to get back at it.”
The Blues are among those jockeying for a postseason spot and hope to be kept together past the Deadline. But with defenseman Colton Parayko now out for at least a few weeks, the Blues have some decisions to make.
The Blues announced Thursday that Parayko will have a scope on his left knee and will be reevaluated in six weeks. It’s tough news for the Blues (30-27-6), who are 6-1-1 in their past eight games, are one point behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.
Parayko has 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 62 games. He also averages 23:51 of ice time per game. With Parayko’s absence, Blues management could face big decisions between now at 3 p.m. ET on Friday but the players will have to keep their focus on the ice.
“Our job as players is just to compete, and the position we’re in right now, every game is a playoff game and we’re looking at it like we can get in,” forward Jake Neighbours said after a 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
“You just continue to play the way we have been and continue to collect points as much as we can and put ourselves in a good spot. At the end of the day, that’s out of our territory on what happens at the Deadline, but we’re going to continue to play hard and do our thing.”
General manager Don Waddell said Wednesday that the Blue Jackets could add before the Deadline on Friday. What they will not be doing, however, is trading defenseman Ivan Provorov, who could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
“We just have a difference of opinion right now on term and dollars, which is normal. But we totally agreed yesterday to put the talks — I told him I’m not going to trade him,” Waddell told Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Wednesday.
Provorov is in the final season of the six-year, $40.5 million contract ($6.75 million AAV) he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 12, 2019.
The Blue Jackets (30-23-8), hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the East and are four points behind the New Jersey Devils for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Waddell said he admires what the Blue Jackets have been able to do this season and their cohesiveness in the wake of injuries and the death of forward Johnny Gaudreau on Aug. 29.
“It’s different this year for me than probably other years as a GM,” he said. “What these guys have gone through this year, how they’ve stuck together I’m very impressed with that. I can’t even comprehend how they’ve done it all year long with all the injuries and everything we’ve had. For me to rip out a key player out of our locker room right now, I just don’t feel good doing it.”
Petr Mrazek is on the outside looking in after the Blackhawks announced that Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom are their two goaltenders for the foreseeable future.
Asked if he hoped to be traded, Mrazek said he’d see what happens.
“You don’t want to jump into something quickly for something that might not make sense. So, we’ll see what happens now or in the summer,” Mrazek said after practice on Thursday.
Knight was acquired from the Florida Panthers for defenseman Seth Jones on Saturday and the 23-year-old is expected to be the Blackhawks’ No. 1 goalie.
Mrazek, 33, has one season remaining on the two-year, $8.5 million contract ($4.25 million AAV) he signed with Chicago on Jan. 24, 2024. This season, he’s 10-19-2 with a 3.46 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in 33 starts.
“It’s a business. This is what it is, that’s what happens in hockey, and I move on,” he said. “I’m still going to be here, coming in with a great attitude. What happens in the summer or next few days, we’ll see.”
With the Kraken a long shot to make the playoffs, general manager Ron Francis’ focus is improving them for the future.
Seattle traded forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of a three-team trade that also included the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday. Seattle received forward Michael Eyssimont, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and 2027 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from the Lightning.
Each of the first-round picks is top-10 protected.
“We’ve got five first-round picks and four second-round picks in the next three drafts. This is the first time in our history we’ll have two first-round picks in the same draft. And now we’ve got it twice, in 2026 and 2027,” Francis told the Kraken website on Wednesday.
“So, the plan is not to draft nine hockey players. The plan is to try to move those picks or package those picks. And we feel we’re now in a position with some of the kids we’ve drafted and developed that we’re in a better position to maybe do some things to help move this team forward.”
The Kraken (26-32-4) are 11 points behind the Flames for the second wild card from the West.
The Wild are staying in the Central Division hunt despite forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek each out with a lower-body injury. So, is there a player or two the Wild would like to acquire before the Deadline?
“Yeah, yeah there are,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin told 100.3 KFAN on Thursday.
Guerin said he doesn’t know when Kaprizov or Eriksson-Ek will return. The Wild (36-22-4), who are third in the Central, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, could have cap space to work with since Kaprizov is on long-term injured reserve. Kaprizov is in the fourth season of the five-year, $45 million contract ($9 million AAV) he signed with the Wild on Sept. 21, 2021. But Guerin said the Wild have to be careful on spending.
“I mean it’s complicated because you don’t really know. You have to be safe and make sure you have cap space for everybody to come back,” he said. “You want to improve your team but you really just kind of have to move carefully, make sure you’re not putting yourself in a bad spot.”
Whether the Wild do anything more, Guerin anticipates a lot of activity around the League prior to the Deadline.
“I think it’s going to be relatively busy today and tomorrow,” he said. “But we’ll see.”
The Penguins have already made a few trades, including sending forward Michael Bunting to the Nashville Predators and defenseman Vincent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
Whether the Penguins do more remains to be seen, and general manager Kyle Dubas said Wednesday that “this is one of the more unique markets that I’ve encountered leading up to the Trade Deadline.”
“There’s a lot of parity and different strategies that contending teams have deployed, combined with teams that are out of the race being very clear that with the salary cap going up in in 2025-26 and the two years beyond, that they plan to be aggressive with their acquisitions come July,” he said.
The Penguins (24-30-10) are nine points behind the Senators for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They have not qualified for the postseason each of the past two seasons after making it for 16 straight seasons.
“Overall, I think we are positioned well over the next few days — but especially heading into the summer and beyond — to continue to execute our plan as we have been for the last 12 months and continue to work to return the Penguins back into contention as soon as possible,” Dubas said.
NHL.com independent correspondent Dan Greenspan contributed to this report
