Hurricanes’ GM Shocks with Admission About the Rantanen Trade

The saga involving Mikko Rantanen and the Carolina Hurricanes continues to unfold even after the Hurricanes traded him to the Dallas Stars at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky was on The Sheet with Jeff Marek on Daily Faceoff and was asked about the Rantanen deal and how things fell apart in Carolina.

Despite the Hurricanes changing their philosophy and being more aggressive, the player and the team already knew that Carolina was never going to be his long-term home. 

Was the Mikko Rantanen trade just another Jake Guentzel situation for the Hurricanes?

Eric Tulsky explains why the two in-season acquisitions were different from Carolina’s perspective?#RaiseUp #TheSheet pic.twitter.com/wGJMTnOd43

— The Sheet with Jeff Marek (@thesheethockey) March 12, 2025

First off, nobody saw Mikko Rantanen being traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes. The deal came out of nowhere, even if Rantanen’s name had been tossed around in the rumor mill. Frankly, few believed the Avalanche would ever pull the trigger.

But to get traded a second time is incredible, especially for a player of Rantanen’s caliber. Had there been even a whiff of Rantanen being willing to ride it out, he wouldn’t have been traded again. But, because Rantanen was brutally honest about his future more than once, the Hurricanes had to move on.

Tulsky Admitted They Sensed Immediately Rantanen Wasn’t Signing

When directly asked if he knew that Rantanen wasn’t going to sign with the Hurricanes, Tulsky didn’t dance around the answer. He explained:

“I mean, big picture. We want to be aggressive. We want to take swings. We had a chance to acquire the kind of player you can’t normally get your hands on. We took our shot. We knew he was not going to sign an extension the day we traded for him. We had reason to believe maybe we were right, maybe we were wrong, but we had reason to believe we had a decent chance of getting it done.”

Tulsky added that when they asked Rantanen’s camp about an extension when he was still with the Avs, they were told he had no desire to leave Colorado. That should have been clue number one. “He came in, he decided it wasn’t for him. That’s been pretty rare for us. And you know, we had time to move on and still end up okay, and we got a player who we’re really happy with.”

So it begs the question, why make the trade in the first place?

The Hurricanes Never Stood a Chance to Sign Rantanen

Reports this week suggested that Rantanen made a concession on the day(s) leading up to the initial trade from the Avalanche on January 24th. He wanted to stay and was trying to find a way to get things done in Colorado. Those reports indicated he was willing to sign for $12 million a season, the same AAV he got with the Dallas Stars.

For whatever reason, the Avalanche did not budge on their initial offer of $11.5-$11.6 million. It felt like GM Chris MacFarland got tired of Rantanen’s early attempts at playing hardball and did not want to negotiate during the year. By this point, it didn’t matter that Rantanen’s group, led by Andy Scott of Octagon, wanted to get an extension done. Rantanen’s attempts to be flexible were too little, too late. 

Tulsky mistakenly thought that might give the Hurricanes a chance to sign Rantanen to a long-term contract. Instead of being warm to the idea after the Avs moved on, Rantanen was even less likely to change his mind and commit to a franchise that wasn’t on his radar. Because Rantanen never wanted to be traded in the first place, Carolina didn’t stand a chance with a player who was clearly heartbroken.

The Hurricanes Gambled and Lost

Like in any relationship, some signals were not read properly. The Hurricanes had been given clues that a long-term extension wasn’t in the cards, but they made the trade anyway.

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Tulsky continued:

“So we did talk to them. They said at that time they were not interested in an extension with anyone but Colorado. They were focused on that. So before the trade, he was hoping to be there, like that was where he wanted to be at the time. The question was, what would happen after he got traded? And they didn’t want to think about that. They wanted to focus on getting a deal done there. After the trade, he wasn’t ready to sign that day, but he gave me a minute here to get used to the change in my life, and we’ll talk, and we’ll give them a week or two.”

After a little time, it was clear Rantanen was unintentionally leading the Hurricanes on. Tulsky noted the team made their pitch and talked with Rantanen about the future, and it was said that “he was appreciative and engaged and said he’d keep thinking about it.”

“Time went by, and he realized that, for whatever reason, it wasn’t the right place for him. I never got the sense that he had any issue with our team or our coaches or anything like that. I think this just didn’t feel like home to him. That’s the sense I got. I hate putting words in someone else’s mouth. That’s how it felt to me.”

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour stated something similar this week when he explained:

“There’s not been one guy that has left here because they didn’t like it here. That was, except for Mikko, and he did not like it. When he showed up, he said, ‘There’s four teams I’ll go play for, but you’re not one of them,'” Brind’Amour said in his press conference on Monday. “So there’s 28 other teams he wasn’t going to, and the better question is, should we have known that before we signed him, or attempted to sign him?”

But as Brind’Amour noted later, he questioned the GM and said, “We probably shouldn’t have known that before we made the deal.”

Is This Something That Should Cost Tulsky His Job?

Some believe this mistake is a fireable offense, and Brind’Amour seemingly throwing his GM under the bus doesn’t help the optics of how things unfolded. Tulsky did clarify the statement as Brind’Amour’s language has to be interpreted. Rantanen did not come in right away, demanding to be traded. That said, he knew the style of play that Carolina clashed with his style. So he took his time, made sure that it wasn’t a fit, and then told Carolina a week before the deadline he wanted out.

Still, Rantanen knew throughout all the meetings that Carolina was not the fit for him. The Hurricanes paid a big price to acquire him regardless. They ultimately made a solid trade and moved him to the Dallas Stars for Logan Stankoven and two firsts. But, the Hurricanes are in trouble come playoff time.

While acquiring a player of Rantanen’s ilk, it might be best to read the tea leaves a little better. The signs were there, he did not want to be in Carolina even before the trade happened. 

Next: Jonathan Quick Signs 1-Year Extension with New York Rangers