BREAKING: Mikko Rantanen Traded by Avalanche in Blockbuster

In an insane blockbuster development, the Colorado Avalanche are trading superstar Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, while Martin Necas heads to Colorado as part of a three-team deal.

BLOCKBUSTER TRADE ALERT 🚨

TO: #RaiseUp
Mikko Rantanen
Taylor Hall
‘25 2nd Rd Pick
‘26 4th Rd Pick

TO: #Blackhawks
2025 3rd Rd Pick
50% Rantanen salary retained

TO: #GoAvsGo
Martin Necas
Jack Drury

As per @emilymkaplan pic.twitter.com/8MTWqwWkCo
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) January 25, 2025

The three-way trade also sees the Hurricanes send Martin Necas to the Avs, though an earlier report of Jesperi Kotkaniemi also going in the deal was incorrect, and has been replaced by Jack Drury. Taylor Hall is also going to the Canes from the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks get a third-round pick, and are retaining half of Mikko Rantanen's $9.25M cap hit, but none on Taylor Hall's $6M.

Rantanen, 28, is a pending UFA, and the Avs were holding a hard line in extension talks, refusing to go past an "internal cap" of the $12.6M that Nathan MacKinnon earns. They have apparently decided to trade him rather than risk losing him in free agency. According to Elliotte Friedman, there is no extension for Rantanen in Carolina currently as part of the deal.

Rantanen cracked the 100-point mark in the previous two seasons, and is well on his way there again this year with 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games, ranking him 6th in league scoring.

Necas finished last season in Carolina asking to be traded, but then, as an RFA, signed a two-year, $6.5 million AAV bridge deal. He's having a solid year in Raleigh, with 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points in 49 games. All those numbers are on pace for career highs for the 26-year-old.