Blockbuster 3-Way Trade Struck Involving Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall, Martin Necas and More

With the 4 Nations Face-Off coming right before the trade deadline, NHL teams were expected to ramp up trade talks, and at one point in time, it was brought up that the Colorado Avalanche might test the market for their star forward, Mikko Rantanen.

However, when Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli dropped some major news on Friday night that the Avalanche were in the process of trading Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team trade involving Taylor Hall and the Chicago Blackhawks as well, nobody was prepared for it.

Seravalli noted that while things are complex and complicated at the moment, that Hall is also expected to be moved to Carolina as the Metropolitan Division giants look to be shoring up their offense in a big way ahead of another playoff run.

Cam Robinson from EliteProspcts added that part of the package from the Hurricanes involves forward Martin Necas, who just recently signed an extension in Carolina. The Czechia native has 16 goals and 55 points in 49 games in what is trending to be a career season.

However, in return, the Hurricanes will be receiving a Stanley Cup champion and a 50-goal scorer in Rantanen, who has accumulated 287 goals and 681 points in 619 games across parts of 10 seasons, and an additional 101 points in 81 playoff games. On the season, he currently has 64 points in just 49 games.

It had been reported that Rantanen and the Avalanche were far apart in contract negotiations as the Finnish forward was expected to hit unrestricted free agency and was looking for a deal that mirrored Leon Draisaitl's $14 million AAV.

At this point, the full terms of the trade have not been revealed to the public, but the early belief is that the deal will not include a contract extension for Rantanen.