Official: Avalanche Deal Mikko Rantanen to Carolina in Shocking Blockbuster Trade

Denver, Co. - Three teams have just pushed over the domino to set the bar for all future trades before the trade deadline on March 7th.

The Colorado Avalanche, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Chicago Blackhawks completed a three-team trade that saw Mikko Rantanen (50% retained by the Blackhawks) and Taylor Hall go to the Hurricanes. In return, the Hurricanes send Martin Necas and Jack Drury, plus a 2025 2nd round and 2026 4th round pick to the Avalanche. The Blackhawks, for taking on $4.625M of Rantanen's contract, send prospect Nils Juntorp to Colorado and get a 2025 3rd-round pick (originally theirs) from Carolina.

Martin Necas, selected by Carolina in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, signed a 2-year, $6.5M AAV deal with the Hurricanes in July of 2024. The Nove Mesto na Morave, Czechia native led the Hurricanes in points (55) and assists (39). Earlier this season, he entered a battle with new teammate Nathan MacKinnon to be the first to 40 points on the season, a battle MacKinnon ended up winning. In 2024, he helped Team Czechia win gold in the 2024 IIHF World Championship

Jack Drury, selected by Carolina in the second round (42nd overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft, also signed a 2-year deal with the Hurricanes in July of 2024, with a $1.725M AAV. The New York City, New York native earned himself a spot as Carolina's fourth-line center this season and will be a positive addition to Colorado's forward depth. In 34 games played with Carolina this season, Drury held a 58.8% success rate in the faceoff dot. He won a Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2022.

In addition to bolstering their forward lineup, the Avalanche also received an addition to their prospect pool in Nils Juntorp, as well as a 2nd round pick in 2025 and a 4th round pick in 2026 to replace some of the draft picks dealt in previous trades over the last two seasons.