South Raleigh News

Eric Tulsky, the General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, has confirmed a significant three-team trade involving the acquisition of forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks. The exchange saw Colorado receiving forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas, alongside Carolina's second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2026. Meanwhile, Chicago obtained its own third-round pick for 2025 from Carolina, retained half of Rantanen's salary, and transferred rights to forward Nils Juntorp to the Hurricanes.

"Mikko is one of the premier power forwards in our sport," said Tulsky. "It’s no secret that we’ve wanted to add elite skill to our lineup, and this is a player who should fit our system and locker room well. And Taylor gives us another high-skill option to bolster our attack."

Rantanen, aged 28, is experiencing his tenth season in the NHL and ranks sixth overall in points (64) with seventh place in goals (25). The Finnish player leads his former team in goals (25) and power-play goals (8), holding second place for assists (39), points, even-strength points (45), and third for power-play points (19). This marks his fifth consecutive season with at least 20 goals. His achievements include leading the league with three hat tricks this season.

A first-round draft pick by Colorado in 2015, Rantanen has accumulated 287 goals, 394 assists over his career spanning 619 games. He ranks fourth among Finnish-born players for career NHL goals.

Hall, now entering his fifteenth NHL season at age 33, contributed 24 points (9g, 15a) across 46 games with Chicago this year. He ranked tied for third on shots on goal within his former team. Originally drafted first overall by Edmonton Oilers in 2010; Hall achieved career-highs during New Jersey Devils' playoff qualification year where he also won Hart Trophy as MVP.