Rangers’ Metro Division rival lands Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall in 3-way trade

NHL: New York Rangers at Colorado Avalanche
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The Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes will look a lot different when they come to Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night, respectively, for their games against the New York Rangers after making a blockbuster trade on Friday night.

Carolina took a swing for the fences by acquiring high-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche and 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-way trade. Colorado will receive Carolina’s leading scorer, forward Martin Necas, as well as bottom-six center Jack Drury, a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2026, all from Carolina. To balance the salary cap numbers, Carolina is sending a third-round pick in 2025 to Chicago in exchange for Hall and the Blackhawks retaining 50 percent of what’s left on Rantanen’s $9.25 million cap hit.

It’s a bold move for Carolina, which enters its game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday second in the Metro at 30-16-3, eight points behind the division-leading Washington Capitals and three in front of the third-place New Jersey Devils. The ’Canes are 10 points ahead of the fourth-place Columbus Blue Jackets, who hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and 11 ahead of the Rangers.

However, while the Hurricanes are on track for their seventh straight trip to the playoffs and their fourth consecutive season with more than 100 points, they haven’t reached the Stanley Cup Final since winning their only NHL championship in 2006. Carolina has made the Eastern Conference Final twice in the past six seasons but was swept by the Boston Bruins in 2019 and the Florida Panthers in 2023. The Rangers eliminated the Hurricanes in the second round in 2022 and 2024.

It’s the second straight season that the Hurricanes have opted to add a big-name forward who can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer; they brought in Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins last year. Although Guentzel played well, the Hurricanes lost to the Rangers in the second round — and Guentzel opted to sign as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning this past offseason.

Related: Controversial former Rangers defenseman signs with rival Islanders

Rangers division rival roll dice by trading for Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall

NHL: Winter Classic-St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks
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Rantanen, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, leads the Avalanche with 25 goals and was sixth in the NHL entering Friday with 64 points. The first-round pick (No. 10 overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft has been a big piece of Colorado’s core for the past several years. He set a career high with 55 goals and 105 points two seasons ago and has had back-to-back 100-point seasons. Rantanen has eight goals and 12 points in 14 career games against the Rangers.

The 28-year-old was part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup-winning team in 2022 and has been part of Colorado’s “Big Three” for the past four seasons alongside center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar. Rantanen is sixth in Avs/Quebec Nordiques history with 287 goals and seventh with 681 points. His 55 goals in 2022-23 are tied for third in franchise history and is the most by any player since the club moved to Colorado for the 1995-96 season.

“Mikko is one of the premier power forwards in our sport,” Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky said. “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 figures to play on the right side of a line with center Sebastian Aho. They will also be teammates on Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-off next month.

Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft by the Edmonton Oilers, won the Hart Trophy with the Devils in 2017-18 but hasn’t come close to that level of play since. He had 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 46 games with Chicago this season. Carolina will be the seventh different team Hall has played for; he hasn’t had more than 20 goals or 61 points in any season since winning the Hart seven years ago.

The Hurricanes took Necas in the first round (No. 12) of the 2017 draft. He set career highs in goals (28) and points (71) in 2022-23. While Necas and Rantanen are similar in size and position, he is faster and less physical.

Necas has one goal and eight points in 17 career games against the Rangers.

Drury, the nephew of Rangers general manager Chris Drury and a New York native, turns 25 next month. He has three goals and nine points in 39 games this season while averaging 12:53 of ice time. The 5-foot-11 center was a second-round pick in 2018, and he’s in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.725 million cap hit.

John Kreiser covered his first Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and is still going ... More about John Kreiser
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