Rantanen to Brind’Amour: “4 Teams I’ll Play For, You’re Not One of Them”

Carolina Hurricanes head coach admitted in a recent interview that Mikko Rantanen was honest and upfront with him the day he walked through the door after being traded for. When the Hurricanes brought in Rantanen and hoped to sign him up for an extension, they had no idea if the forward was even open to it. They found out almost immediately that he wasn’t.

Rod Brind’Amour said while speaking on the 999TheFan that Rantanen told him, “There are four teams I’ll go play for, and you’re not one of them.” He then acknowledged, “The better question is, should we have known that” before they traded for him?

Really interesting stuff here, via @AGoldFan:

Brind’Amour: “When [Rantanen] showed up, he said, ‘There’s four teams I’ll go play for, and you’re not one of them.’ And the question is, should we have known that before we signed him?”

Necas said something similar a couple of days… pic.twitter.com/4FDHS86Do7

— Bailey Curtis (@baileyycurtis) March 10, 2025

Brind’Amour said Jake Guentzel‘s situation was different because the Hurricanes didn’t offer him a contract worth signing until it was too late, so he bolted for the Lightning. Everyone else with the organization left because they took more money elsewhere, and the Hurricanes weren’t willing to match the offers.

“Mikko is the only one I’ve been associated with that said, ‘This is not for me,’ and he believes it didn’t have to do with hockey in Carolina but other circumstances such as family and personal reasons. “I appreciate that he let us know that.” He added, “We probably should have known that before we made the deal. Maybe that changes how we go about things.”

Who Were the Four Teams Rantanen Would Play For?

Clearly, Dallas was one of the four teams Rantanen was comfortable with. They signed him to a big extension. As for the other three, it was believed the Florida Panthers was another location he preferred. There are reports he was willing to sign with the Edmonton Oilers and other reports that he might have been open to the Toronto Maple Leafs or Vegas Golden Knights.

Ryan Rishaug reported that the Oilers had gotten down the path of extension talks if they could land Rantanen in a trade, but they didn’t have the assets the Hurricanes wanted or needed in the deal.

Next: Have Oilers Finally Found a Parnter for Darnell Nurse on Defense?