RANT SPORTS – NHL Season, Stanley Cup Race, Wide Open
Coming into the 2024/25 season, the frontrunners for the Stanley Cup were as to be expected. Having just made it to the Finals, both the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers were seen as the ones to beat. Being the reigning champions with much of the same roster coming back, the Panthers had to be up there.
Since then, the Eastern Conference has really heated up, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals placing themselves well to win their divisions. In the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers remain the big favorites even with the emergence of the superb Winnipeg Jets.
In the NHL, though, things can change in an instant either with a major injury or a major trade. A lot of the time, the biggest deals are held back for the Trade Deadline to draw out maximum value. In the case of the most recent colossal trade in the NHL, the two teams didn’t fancy waiting for 7 March 2025.
Hurricanes get Rantanen and Hall in Three-team move
Recent Stanley Cup winners, of all of the members of the Colorado Avalanche, you’d always be able to name three who make up the core of untouchables: Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen. On 24 January, the Avs dealt Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes while very much being in the battle for the postseason.
It was a huge move, seeing a superstar in their prime shift from one side of the expected Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket to the other. The Chicago Blackhawks were needed to help balance the books, which led to veteran sniper Taylor Hall also joining the ranks of the Canes.
Colorado did get a top-class player back in Martin Necas – who immediately ranks as the second-top scorer for the Avs at the time of writing, and only seven points behind Rantanen’s haul to date – as well as centre Jack Drury.
The Hurricanes were happy to gamble on Rantanen being what is essentially a loan before his favourable $4.635 million deal ends this summer. The oddsmakers approve of the move, with futures lines for NHL bets vaulting the Hurricanes to the top of the queue. Now, they’re the favourites at +550 over the +600 Oilers.
The Falling Stones That Start an Avalanche
At the time of the deal, there were many weeks left before the NHL Trade Deadline, but it’ll certainly have general managers being even more outgoing than usual. Rantanen, an untouchable superstar pivotal to Stanley Cup hopes, was moved to create a new favourite. If the Finnish sniper can be traded, so could any of them.
The pool of impending UFAs this year is exceptional. Rantanen was just one headliner. Among the others, as Sportsnet listed earlier this year, are Mitchell Marner, Matt Duchene, Nikolaj Ehlers, John Tavares, Brad Marchand, Jakob Chychrun, Brock Boeser, Jamie Benn, Sam Bennett, and Patrick Kane.
Now, all of them are fair game. Just a couple of these names moving as Rantanen did could drastically change the outlook for the postseason if they land with a fitting team. Once again, the NHL Trade Deadline will be one of great intrigue as the final days edge closer.
