Insider: Marquee Teams Named Who Will "Move a Mountain" To Try To Sign Rantanen in Free Agency

Like many organizations with their own pending UFAs, the Carolina Hurricanes management team will be using the next 10 days to see exactly where they stand in regard to their chances of re-signing their blockbuster trade acquisition Mikko Rantanen.

There is plenty of talk making the rounds that if they aren't able to come to an agreement by the March 7th trade deadline, they could look to flip him in another trade. And then come July 1st, he'd be fair game for any team to pounce on.

Given the massive contract that he'll be able to command, upwards of a $14 million AAV, we're hearing that rebuilding teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks, with plenty of money to spend, will be all over trying to land him.

But insider Elliotte Friedman, speaking on NHL Network Radio, names two marquee teams that he believes will be among those doing everything they can to sign Rantanen, regardless of their cap situation.

Teams will make room for this guy. If they have a feeling that he's going to come to them, the NY Rangers, Toronto, it won't just be the teams with a lot of cap room. It'll be teams (saying) like, 'OK if I have to move a mountain to get Mikko Rantanen we're going to try to do it.'

The Toronto Maple Leafs, as we all know, have their own free agents to worry about as well, notably Mitch Marner who will be commanding a contract of somewhere in the same neighborhood as Rantanen, as well as John Tavares, who won't be residing in that high-rent district, but will still get a pretty penny. Will they abandon either or both of them to try to sign Rantanen instead?

The Rangers have been in a roster upheaval all season, shipping out a huge contract in Jacob Trouba, and bringing another one in JT Miller. They will also have to abandon some other notable names on their roster (the "moving mountains" analogy that Friedman referred to) to make room for a Rantanen push.

The former Colorado Avalanche forward is off to a slow start with his new team in Raleigh, with just two points in six games. He's also playing three fewer minutes per night (19:41 TOI) than he was with the Avs.

This will be the most intriguing story to watch when we come out of the 4 Nations break and get closer to the trade deadline.