One of the most consequential trades in recent NHL history was pulled off on Friday night, with several notable players changing locations.
The Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks all combined for a monumental deal that resulted in Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall joining the Hurricanes, Martin Necas and Jack Drury (and draft picks) joining the Avalanche, and the Blackhawks receiving a draft selection while also retaining half of Rantanen's salary.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, all of the principal players involved in the deal will make their debuts with their new teams on Saturday, as he noted on X.
The Avalanche are in action against the Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, while Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall and the Hurricanes visit the New York Islanders later in the evening at UBS Arena.
So far this season, Rantanen has scored 25 goals with 39 assists and is on pace to break the 100-point plateau for what would be the third straight campaign.
The Mikko Rantanen trade is one of the biggest in recent NHL history for both the Hurricanes and Avalanche
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The Avalanche and Hurricanes have made some monumental trades in their history as franchises, which both began within two years of each other; the Avalanche began play in 1995-96 after being previously known as the Quebec Nordiques, while the Hurricanes began play in 1997-98 after being previously known as the Hartford Whalers.
One of the biggest trades in Hurricanes history was sending Keith Primeau to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for future captain (and current head coach) Rod Brind'Amour in 2000; Brind'Amour would later help the Hurricanes to the 2002 and 2006 Stanley Cup Final, the latter of which resulted in the franchise's first and only championship.
Meanwhile, the Avalanche acquired longtime Boston Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque the same year; he won his first and only Stanley Cup with the club before retiring in June 2001.
Of course, there was also the deal the Avalanche swung with the Montreal Canadiens in December of 1995 to acquire future Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, who soon helped them to a pair of Stanley Cup wins.