Rantanen calls Brind'Amour's report 'false', reveals why he chose Dallas
Mikko Rantanen just wants to play hockey. It just so happens he'd much rather play as a Dallas Star than spend the next eight seasons as a Carolina Hurricane.
There's been reports flying around about how he informed Hurricanes' head coach Rod Brind'Amour once he arrived in Carolina that he wasn't interested in playing for the team, and had a short-list of four clubs he'd consider signing long term with. A report that Rantanen has firmly denied. The Finnish winger spoke to the media ahead of Thursday's action and wanted to do his best to clear the air, and get ahead of all these narratives that are being created about him as a teammate:
"One of the reasons was for me to think where I really want to play hockey for the next eight years," he explained. "Dallas was a better fit on the ice, a style of play similar to Colorado.""I just decided a little bit before the deadline that Carolina would probably get a better return from me if I would do a sign-and-trade, so it would be better for their team rather than me being a rental and going somewhere (else) to play. That was the decision. ... But I want to make it clear I was open-minded in Carolina and really thought about staying there. I saw some things were said that I had a list of teams ready when I went (to Carolina), but that's false. ... Obviously, it was a big shock to leave Colorado, but I went there with an open mind and tried my best on the ice."
"It's been crazy for sure. ... I'm so happy to be here and locked in for eight years with a good team and good coaches and everything," he said. "I'm really glad to be here and thankful for Dallas to have trust in me."
Rantanen looks to have found a home in Dallas, and is playing much better with the Stars than he did over the course of a few weeks as a Hurricane. Dallas is in Colorado on Sunday, as Rantanen will play against his old teammates before he even gets a chance to play a home game with the Stars.
Photo credit: Bob Lee, Imagn Images
