The Carolina Hurricanes acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in a blockbuster three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

The Mikko Rantanen trade brought up NHL speculation about the futures of the Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner and Penguins' Sidney Crosby, which were quickly addressed.

The trade is a stunning midseason swap of point-per-game players in their primes, an anomaly in the NHL trade market in the salary-cap era.

Earlier in the week, the Blackhawks traded Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes, and Connor Bedard is now reacting to the move.

The Colorado Avalanche were never going to pay Mikko Rantanen $14 million per season. They’ve set an internal cap at $12.5 million (Nathan MacKinnon‘s contract), and when Rantanen informed the Avs he wasn’t going to sign below that number,

The Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly loading up with multiple key players from the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks in a massive blockbuster deal.

According to the latest reports, Rantanen was seeking a contract worth $14 million per season, although he could have been willing to take less money to stay in Colorado. Even a figure near Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million average annual value might already have posed a challenge to the Avalanche.

Mikko Rantanen does not believe he priced himself out of the future plans of the Colorado Avalanche. Speaking with Finnish media Sunday, Rantanen said, “Discussions about an extension with the club were open.

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The Chicago Blackhawks teamed up with the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes on a monumental three-team trade earlier this week, sending forward Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes and receiving a draft pick in return.

Whenever a franchise icon is traded, there is always a doubt about whether the new players can adequately replace their production. That is the predicament