The Toronto Maple Leafs were one of the teams rumoured to be kicking the tires on former Carolina Hurricanes’ forward Mikko Rantanen. According to Nick Kypreos, the Leafs were all-in on getting Rantanen. However, the Hurricanes felt that pulling the trigger on the deal with Toronto wasn’t the best fit for them.
Kypreos, and I always caution to take his comments with a grain of salt, stated on the Kyper and Bourne Show that the Carolina Hurricanes chose Dallas over Toronto because the Hurricanes were afraid they could run into the Leafs at some point in the playoffs.
Such a situation would happen if the Leafs and Hurricanes met in the Eastern Conference Final. As a result, the Hurricanes were more willing to send Rantanen to Dallas. In the end, the Hurricanes got a terrific young player in Logan Stankoven, plus two first-round picks and two third-round picks.
In all, the five pieces the Carolina Hurricanes got for Rantanen were an incredible haul for a player the Canes were likely to lose for nothing this summer, and a long-term profit on what they paid earlier.
Meanwhile, Rantanen signed an eight-year, $96 million extension to remain in Dallas. The extension was a condition for the trade to take place. Late last Thursday night, Dallas and Carolina had a deal in place. But the lack of an extension prevented the deal from happening then. The negotiations went down to the wire, with the trade becoming final on Friday afternoon.
Looking at the cost for Toronto Maple Leafs to acquire Rantanen
Here’s where things get interesting. Per Kypreos, the Leafs had Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, and two first-round picks on the table as the return for Mikko Rantanen. Considering that the Toronto Maple Leafs eventually sent Minten to the Boston Bruins in the Brandon Carlo trade, it makes sense that the Leafs were willing to ante up.
Second, Kypreos also stated that the Leafs had a $13 million AAV deal on the table for Rantanen to sign. The total value of the extension was somewhere between $105 to $110 million.
“The Leafs had Minten, Cowan and two firsts on the table for Rantanen… Carolina said no on the thought that they could meet the Leafs and Rantanen in the playoffs.”@RealKyper shares insight on the #Leafs' offer for Rantanen with @jtbourne & @SamAMcKee.#RaiseUp #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/zPIO2H8Mr1
— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) March 7, 2025
I thought about this statement for a while before writing this piece. At first, I didn’t believe it mainly because adding Rantanen at such a high cost would have prevented the Leafs from re-signing Mitch Marner.
Then again, I figured out that the Leafs were essentially taking John Tavares’ current cap hit and adding a couple of million dollars on top of it. When looking at it that way, it made total sense that the Leafs would be willing to go that high on Rantanen.
Ultimately, if Kypreos is to be believed, it was the Hurricanes who decided not to partner with the Leafs. If that’s indeed the case, the Hurricanes really messed things up for Rantanen and the NHL. A Rantanen-to-Toronto deal would have made this year’s trade deadline one of the most memorable in history.
Incidentally, the Toronto Maple Leafs did well for themselves, transforming the potential Rantanen deal into two highly useful pieces in Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo. I believe that fate has a funny way of making things work out.