Hurricanes make trade splash well ahead of NHL deadline. Here’s who Carolina acquired

The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t wait for the NHL trade deadline to make a splash in this year’s market, and they have jumped in head first.

The Hurricanes confirmed Friday that they have acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche and Taylor Hall of the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-team deal that should bolster the Hurricanes’ goal-scoring arsenal.

The Canes traded Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a second-round draft pick in 2025 and a fourth-round pick in 2026 to the Avalanche. The Blackhawks are getting a third-round draft pick — their own returned from a previous deal — while also retaining 50% of Rantanen’s salary.

Rantanen is a bona fide NHL star. He has surpassed the 100-point mark in each of the past two regular seasons with the Avalanche, putting up 55 goals and 50 assists in 82 games in 2022-23, and 42-62-104 totals last season. So far this season, Rantanen, an alternate captain for Colorado, has 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points in 49 games. Now in his 10th NHL season, his 64 points currently rank sixth in the NHL, and he is and seventh in goals (25).

The Nousiainen, Finland, native leads the Avalanche in goals (25) and power-play goals (8), ranks second on the team in assists (39), points and even-strength points (45) and third in power-play points (19). This season marks Rantanen’s fifth consecutive 20-goal campaign and the eighth of his career. He leads the NHL with three hat tricks this season

He has 681 points in 619 regular-season games. In the playoffs, the 6-4, 215-pound Finn has 101 points in 81 games, and won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022.

Rantanen is in the final year of a six-year, $55.5 million contract that pays him $9.25 million annually.

“Mikko is one of the premiere power forwards in our sport,” Hurricanes’ GM Eric Tulsky said in a release. “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.”

Hall, the first overall selection in the 2010 NHL Draft by Edmonton, is in his 15th NHL season. He had a solid first two seasons with Edmonton, making the NHL All-Star Game in his first full season with the Oilers, during which he put up 53 assists and 80 points in 75 games.

He fell out of favor and into the wrong end of a numbers crunch in Edmonton, and signed with the New Jersey Devils ahead of the 2016-17 season. After a middling debut season with the Devils, Hall had his best professional season in his second year in New Jersey, finishing with 93 points in 76 regular-season games and six points in five playoff contests. He also won the Hart Trophy that season as the NHL’s MVP.

Since then, Hall has bounced around, landing in Arizona, Buffalo, Boston and Chicago. In 832 regular-season games, Hall has 266 goals and 431 assists for 697 points, to go with 29 points in 39 playoff games.

This season, Hall has nine goals and 15 assists with 82 shots on goal in 46 games. He ranks tied for third on the team in shots, tied for fourth in assists, and is fifth in points.

Hall is in the final year of a four-year, $24 million deal he signed with the Bruins in 2021.

“Taylor gives us another high-skill option to bolster our attack,” Tulsky said.

Necas, a 26-year-old Czech winger, was a first-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2017 and had played his entire pro career in Carolina to date. He posted 298 points in 411 regular-season games with the Canes, but routinely saw his production drop in the postseason, registering just 30 points in 59 playoff games. Necas is in the first year of a two-year, $13 million bridge deal signed in June.

Necas got off to a blistering start this season for Carolina, but has cooled off in the past two months.

Drury signed a two-year, $3.45 million contract last summer after playing on his rookie deal in hist first three seasons in the Hurricanes’ system. A frequent call-up from the American Hockey League in 2022-23, Drury seemed to cement his place with the Canes last season, playing 74 games while averaging just over 12 minutes a game.

This season, Drury was seeing more time on the ice, particularly on key faceoffs. In 153 regular-season NHL games, Drury has 46 points and 61 penalty minutes.