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The Carolina Hurricanes have considered trading Mikko Rantanen before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. The Hurricanes traded for Rantanen in a massive three-team trade back in January. However, with contract talks seemingly going nowhere, flipping Rantanen becomes more of a legitimate possibility. And the Florida Panthers could be involved in these new sweepstakes.
The Panthers have expressed “serious” interest in Rantanen, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pagnotta notes that other teams are in on the star winger. And these other teams have also expressed a ton of interest in making this trade with the Hurricanes. Still, hearing the Panthers involved in this process is certainly eye-opening.
Rantanen has split the season between the Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche. The pending free agent scored 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games with the Avalanche before the trade. Afterward, however, he has just two goals and six points in 12 games with Carolina.
How Mikko Rantanen fits in Panthers lineup
Rantanen is currently a rental option. The star winger is a free agent at the end of this season. And he is likely to receive a massive payday on the open market. The Hurricanes are trying to sign him to a contract extension before he reaches free agency. If they can't sign him, a trade could make some sense if they aren't comfortable with him being a rental.
The Panthers won the Stanley Cup in 2024 and are looking to reclaim hockey's biggest prize this spring. As a result, they are likely willing to take Rantanen on as a rental. Especially if the Hurricanes retain on the remaining $4.625 million cap hit Carolina is on the hook for.
Florida could certainly use a top-six winger before the NHL Trade Deadline. Matthew Tkachuk is done for the season due to an injury he suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team USA. This is a massive loss for the defending champions high in the lineup.
The Panthers play a defensively responsible system, but offensive players can still flourish. Ideally, Rantanen would come in as a rental winger and play alongside Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov in the top six.
Florida is unlikely to re-sign Rantanen should they land him. They have a limited amount of cap flexibility moving forward. And this limited flexibility became even more limited after the Seth Jones trade. This is not even mentioning Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad, both pending free agents.
The Panthers are going to make tough decisions this offseason. Before that, though, they could make a massive trade for one of the game's best players. It will certainly be interesting to see if Rantanen heads to South Florida by 3 PM on Friday.
