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.

THIS IS A BIG DEAL‼️

Details » https://t.co/CI5CL23V8M pic.twitter.com/9WRKWRt2Aw

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 25, 2025

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

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.

Welcome to Raleighwood, Taylor Hall 🚨 pic.twitter.com/gYVulvXNFi

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 25, 2025

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.

Trade alert. pic.twitter.com/7AX82rf9Np

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 25, 2025

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.

The Rangers went from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in that dramatic 5-3 win on May 16. They eliminated the Hurricanes after it appeared for sure the series was headed back to Madison Square Garden for a deciding Game 7. Chris Kreider famously scored a natural hat trick to rescue the Rangers from a 3-1 deficit in the third period, and a third straight loss in the series.

Perhaps some of that magic can rub off on the Rangers here on Thanksgiving Eve. The Rangers (12-7-1) are on a season-long three-game losing streak and just 7-7-0 in their past 14 games following a 5-2 home-ice loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

Coach Peter Laviolette is clearly annoyed with the mediocre play, and Rangers trade rumors are running rampant. So, what a perfect time to face one of their biggest rivals.

The Hurricanes (15-5-1) are second in the Metropolitan Division with 31 points, one behind the first-place New Jersey Devils and six ahead of the fourth-place Rangers. Carolina is just 1-1-1 in its past three games after a three-game winning streak, each with third-string goalie Spencer Martin in goal.

Martin has allowed 13 goals in that span, with Frederik Andersen out 8-12 weeks following knee surgery and Pyotr Kochetkov sidelined with a concussion.

So maybe the Rangers are catching the Hurricanes at just the right time.

Related: Jacob Trouba opens up on Rangers trade rumors: ‘It’s part of the game’

3 things to watch for when Rangers visit Hurricanes

1. Metro clash

Despite their struggles, the Rangers are right in the thick of the Metropolitan Division race a quarter of the way through the season. That, of course, was expected heading into the season. But it also shows that no one is pulling away yet even if the Rangers’ play has been unexpectedly sub-par.

A win Wednesday by the Rangers tightens things even more, which is why there’s no panic on their end right now. They need a better sense of urgency. But there’s no panic.

The Rangers have played just three games within the division, — they’re 2-1-0 — none since a 5-2 win against the Islanders on Nov. 3 which feels like a lifetime ago. The Hurricanes were a perfect 6-0-0 against division rivals to begin the season, but lost in regulation to the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 21 and in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

New York was 2-1-0 in the 2023-24 regular season against Carolina, including one of their best wins of the year, 1-0 in Raleigh on March 12.

2. Get ready for more shots

The Rangers have allowed 40 or more shots in each of their past three games, including a season-high 49 in a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames last week. They’ve surrendered 40+ shots five times this season, so in 25 percent of their games.

Could be more of the same Wednesday because the Hurricanes are a notoriously high shot-volume team. They again lead the NHL averaging 33.7 shots per game. But that doesn’t have to be a detrimental thing for the Rangers. Carolina got its shots in the playoffs last spring, but New York did a pretty good job of keeping those shots to the outside and not from dangerous areas. It was a key for the Rangers in their series win and will be again Wednesday.

3. Stop Martin Necas

Guess who’s tied with Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead? Connor McDavid? Nikita Kucherov? Jack Eichel? Nope. Nope. And nope.

It’s Martin Necas.

The Hurricanes forward has 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 21 games after regressing to 53 points last season and then asking for a trade. He wasn’t dealt and instead landed a new contract and earned a bigger role following the departures of free agents Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teravainen.

Necas is tied for third in assists and tied for second with four game-winning goal (with Kreider, among others). He has points in 16 of his past 17 games and been held off the score sheet twice this season. The 25-year-old forward has 11 multi-point games, including two four-point performances.

It’ll be interesting to see how — on the road without the final change — Laviolette chooses to defend Necas on Wednesday.

New York Rangers projected lineup

Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere

Cuylle – Zibanejad – Berard

Edstrom – Kakko – Smith

Vesey – Carrick – Brodzinski

Miller – Fox

Lindgren – Trouba

Jones – Schneider

Shesterkin

Quick

Rangers vs. Hurricanes: When, where, what time, how to watch

Who: New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes

When: Wednesday Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Lenovo Center

How to Watch: MSG

Click here for New York Rangers complete 2024-25 schedule and game results

So, again, the Rangers really don’t seem to be a fit. But one of their Metropolitan Division rivals very well could be.

Recent rumors link the Carolina Hurricanes to the Jets forward, who can be an unrestricted free agent after next season. The Hurricanes have taken a beating this summer, losing forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Stefan Noesen, and defenseman Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, among others.

RFA forward Martin Necas, who filed for salary arbitration, has also expressed a desire to be traded out of Carolina.

So, yes, the Hurricanes have a need for a talented goal scorer and respected veteran like Ehlers in their forward group. And Necas, three years Ehlers’ junior, could, theoretically, make for a good trade fit.

Related: Rangers rival in Metropolitan Division takes another hit this offseason

Rangers rival could benefit by acquiring Nikolaj Ehlers in trade

The gap between the Rangers and Hurricanes has grown this offseason. After finishing three points ahead of the Hurricanes for first in the division — and first overall in the NHL — the Rangers have had a quiet offseason and will return most of their roster that won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24. They’ve acquired forward Reilly Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins, signed free agent center Sam Carrick, and re-signed RFAs Kaapo Kakko and Braden Schneider and UFA defenseman Chad Ruhwedel. Erik Gustaffson, Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic all departed in free agency. And they still must get a deal done with defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who has a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Aug. 2.

Not much upheaval to a legit Stanley Cup contender.

But whereas the Rangers remain in strong position, the Hurricanes are weakened both up front and on defense, even with the free-agent additions of Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere. And that’s weakened from a group the Rangers knocked out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the second round this past spring for the second time in three years.

Carolina has $13.857 million in projected cap space, so there’s room to make a move or two. If they did trade for Ehlers, they’d be best served by keeping Necas, as long as the 25-year-old is not a problem moving forward about his trade request. Swapping one for the other, especially if Ehlers departed as a UFA next offseason seems suboptimal.

Ehlers is a consistent 25-goal, 60-point NHL player. In 605 games with the Jets, he has scored 201 goals and totaled 457 points. Last season, each of his 25 goals were scored at even strength. Perhaps with more of a power-play opportunity with the Hurricanes, he could surpass 30 goals for the first time.

Unless the Hurricanes know something we don’t about Mitchell Marner’s availability this offseason, Ehlers is likely the biggest name out there who could provide a boost to a team that needs a shot in the arm after a rough summer to this point.

Ehlers wouldn’t swing the balance of power away from the Rangers in the division, but his addition would help the Hurricanes standing and their attempt to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a seventh straight season.

The incident in question took place in the first overtime of the New York Rangers’ 4-3 double-OT win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. The Rangers captain lined up the Hurricanes forward looking to make a big hit, and instead went flying into the glass after Necas pulled up and ducked under Trouba.

The Rangers defenseman completely missed Necas, though his skate did hit him on the helmet at the end of the sequence. Each player was lucky to come away unscathed. Trouba certainly could have been injured going head first into the glass; and Necas could’ve been hurt in a myriad of different ways, either from Trouba’s body on impact or by his skate afterward.

When asked about Trouba’s intent Wednesday, Necas managed to toss in a dig.

“Elbow me in the head, I guess,” Necas said. “Maybe he was protecting himself from going into the boards, but he knows. He knows. Everyone knows what kind of player he is. I mean good for him. Nothing happened. We’re all good and I’m excited for the next game.” 

Related: How Rangers aced their first real test in 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Is there bad blood between Rangers and Hurricanes ahead of Game 3?

In the immediate aftermath, Necas was clearly not happy. On Wednesday, he was more matter of fact about what happened.

“In the moment, I didn’t even see what happened,” Necas explained. “I saw it on a replay after the game. I mean it’s whatever. Good for him, he ran into the boards head first. Good to dodge the hit as it probably wouldn’t have ended well, but I’m here, it’s fine.”

Jacob Trouba comes FLYING in on Martin Nečas 😲 pic.twitter.com/56yWt9xJX4

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) May 8, 2024

As for fans on social media, they had a field day reposting video of Trouba flying through the air and thudding into the glass. There were a string of memes that came out of the play, as well.

The near-crushing hit was part of a spirited clash between two of the League’s best teams Tuesday. Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov nearly started a riot when he tripped Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin behind the net in the first period, and shortly after, Matt Rempe made sure to gently bump in to Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen at the whistle.

Cross words were exchanged throughout the intense game, including an exchange caught on ESPN between former Rangers teammates Tony DeAngelo and K’Andre Miller. Vincent Trocheck and Jake Guentzel were jawing all night, including a funny moment when Trocheck gave the thumbs up to Guentzel, who was sitting in the penalty box after negating a Hurricanes power play by punching Adam Fox. Earlier DeAngelo took a minor penalty for blasting Will Cuylle with a high hit.

“I’ll fight you any time”

Tony DeAngelo is always ready to scrap vs his former team @spittinchiclets
https://t.co/qcllsSINHP

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 8, 2024

As for Trouba, he had an active night. He led all skaters with nine blocked shots and six hits, and was assessed three minor penalties, logging 26:06 in ice time. Necas, who scored a goal in Game 1, had three shots on goal and 11 shot attempts playing 25:06 in Game 2.

The Rangers are up 2-0 in the best-of-7 series and will visit the Hurricanes in Game 3 down in Raleigh on Thursday.