It seemed like a quiet Friday night in the NHL until Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland decided to make a major move by completing a three-way trade with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Avs traded high-scoring winger Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes and got Martin Necas back in return.

The huge deal, well ahead of the NHL's March 7 trade deadline, saw the Avs receive Necas and Jack Drury along with a 2025 second-round draft pick and a 2026 fourth-round selection. Carolina gets Rantanen and Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks while Chicago gets a 2025 third-round pick the team had previously traded to the Hurricanes.

Rantanen is clearly the biggest name to move in the deal, and he should deliver a major offensive lift to the Hurricanes. He has scored 25 goals and 39 assists for the Avs this season, and he combines size, strength and excellent timing to dominate in the offensive zone.

Rantanen is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season. While the Avs and Rantanen had discussed a potential extension, the two sides had not come to any agreement and MacFarland decided to make the trade.

“It's a bittersweet day, right?” MacFarland said, per Sean O'Leary of The Score. “Mikko is a decorated player for us. He's an elite winger in this league. It was a tough few days. We just felt the timing was right. The last few days it kind of came together, and we decided to act yesterday. But it wasn't without a lot serious thought, I can assure you of that.”

Avs hoping Necas can continue to excel

Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen (96) scores a goal against the Minnesota Wild during the second period at Xcel Energy Center.
Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
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Necas is clearly a player on the rise. The 26-year-old center scored 16 goals and 39 assists this season for the Hurricanes and he was the team's leading point producer.

Although the trade was completed Friday night, Necas made it to Boston early Saturday and played in Colorado's 1 p.m. ET game against the Bruins. Necas did not get on the score sheet as the Bruins defeated the Avs 3-1, but he did register two shots on goal.

Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky is hoping that the Hurricanes can entice Rantanen to remain with the team on a long-term basis.

“Rantanen is an incredible player,” Tulsky said. “If he gets to free agency, I'm sure there will be teams that will pay him a lot of money, and so our job in the next weeks and months is to make it so he wants to be here. He has the right as a free agent to decide where to sign and it may not come down to the money for him. It may come down to where he wants to be. So our goal is to make him want to be here and then offer enough money that he doesn't have to think twice about it.”

The trade was a shocker because Rantanen is clearly a top-10 player in the NHL. He has broken the 100-point mark twice in his career.