Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall was a late scratch from their game tonight against Tampa Bay. His absence wasn’t injury or illness-related, however, as he was traded to Carolina. He wasn’t the only one on the move, however, as the Hurricanes also picked up Mikko Rantanen as part of a three-team swap. The full deal, which has now been announced by all three teams, is as follows:
To Carolina: Taylor Hall, Mikko Rantanen (Chicago retains 50% of his contract), Nils Juntorp
To Chicago: CHI 3rd-round pick in 2025 (via Carolina)
To Colorado: Martin Necas, Jack Drury, 2025 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick
Hall was widely speculated as a trade candidate going back to the start of the season. Now in the final year of his contract (one that carries a $6MM AAV), the veteran recently indicated that he’d be open to remaining with the Blackhawks but admitted that a trade was the likeliest outcome. That departure came a bit sooner than expected with the trade deadline still six weeks away.
The 33-year-old is in his second season with Chicago after being acquired in a cap-clearing move from Boston back in 2023. He was limited to just ten games in 2023-24 though due to a torn ACL but he has remained healthy so far this season. However, production has been difficult to come by this year as he has just nine goals and 15 assists in 46 games and was even made a healthy scratch earlier in the season.
In his prime, Hall was a legitimate top-line winger and even won the Hart Trophy back in 2015-16 while with New Jersey. He has been a 20-goal scorer seven times in his 15-year career, most recently coming in 2021-22 with Boston. While he’s no longer playing at that type of level, he should still be able to give Carolina a boost in their middle six. A potentially long playoff run could also help him rebuild some value heading into free agency this summer.
As for Rantanen, he’s also in the final year of his contract, a deal that carries a $9.25MM price tag, one that the Blackhawks will eat half of to help facilitate the swap, leaving them with just one remaining retention slot for this season. While Rantanen’s camp and the Avs were involved in recent extension discussions, the two sides were still well apart as of last week and clearly, they weren’t able to bridge those to either side’s satisfaction, resulting in Colorado deciding to move him now instead of run the risk of having him walk for nothing in free agency. It was believed that the Avalanche preferred to keep Rantanen’s price below Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM while Rantanen’s side was eyeing Leon Draisaitl’s $14MM AAV (starting next season) as a benchmark. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (Twitter link) that there is no extension in place with Carolina at this time.
Rantanen has consistently been one of the NHL’s top scorers in recent years. Only three players have more points than him since the start of the 2020-21 season, Connor McDavid, MacKinnon, and Draisaitl, certainly lofty company to be in. The 28-year-old has recorded more than 100 points in each of the last two years and is well on his way toward extending that streak. Rantanen has 25 goals and 39 assists in 49 games this season, good for sixth in NHL scoring. He’ll undoubtedly be a big boost to a Carolina attack that’s already among the best in the league, checking in at fourth overall in goals scored.
Necas, like Hall, had been in a lot of trade speculation, especially over the summer. At one point, it looked as if he’d be moved back at the draft amid reports that he had indicated that he’d welcome a change of scenery but that didn’t materialize. Instead, the two sides ultimately settled on a two-year, $13MM deal in July, a deal that gave him a fair-sized raise but also didn’t give Carolina any extra team control.
Two years ago, Necas had a breakout year, posting 28 goals and 43 assists in 82 games. Unfortunately for him and the Hurricanes, those numbers dropped last season to 24 and 29 respectively. However, things have been much better for the 26-year-old this season, as he has 16 goals and 39 assists in 49 games; his 55 points lead the team in scoring. But even with that, GM Eric Tulsky has decided that a significant shakeup to his forward group is required and these two moves certainly count as a significant shakeup.
Necas will likely slot in where Rantanen was on Colorado’s top line and a chance to play with MacKinnon could allow his individual production to flourish. That would certainly be an ideal situation to be in considering he’ll become extension-eligible on July 1st when he’ll have some more leverage only being a year away from hitting the UFA market.
Drury’s first full NHL campaign came last season and it was a good one as he had eight goals and 19 assists in 74 games while winning over 55% of his faceoffs. That helped earn him a two-year, $3.45MM contract over the summer. However, production has been harder to come by for him this season as the 24-year-old has just three goals and six assists through 39 games although his faceoff win percentage is up to 58.8%.
Colorado’s bottom six group has been an area of some concern for a couple of years now with the team churning through numerous players with varying degrees of minimal success. While Drury isn’t producing much more than many of those players, he’ll give the Avs some desired stability down the middle while his faceoff prowess will fit in well on a team that has a success rate at the dot of just 44.5%. They also get some club control over Drury who isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028.
Juntorp was a sixth-round pick by Chicago in 2022 and is included in the swap as the Blackhawks had to send something out beyond Hall to make the three-team element of the deal work. He has 20 points in 25 games with HC Dalen in the Hockey Ettan along with three appearances with Vasteras in the second-tier Allsvenskan.
In the end, Carolina has clearly signaled its intentions to go all-in this season and managed to upgrade its roster without touching any of its future assets. They’ll dip into LTIR for the time being to afford the swap. Colorado, meanwhile, ensures that they’ll get a top-line talent and some other pieces in exchange for Rantanen, giving them an extra year of club control along the way. They also free up a bit of cap space in the process which they’ll likely put to use in the coming weeks. As for Chicago, their return is certainly underwhelming as Hall is effectively given away in this deal while only receiving a third-round pick for eating half of Rantanen’s contract. However, they were able to clear the full freight of Hall’s contract, giving them one more retention slot to utilize before the deadline.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic first reported the three-team element and Chicago’s acquisition of the third-round pick. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report Colorado’s involvement in the deal. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple first reported that Necas was part of the swap. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan was first with Drury’s inclusion and the two picks going to Colorado.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.
Suzuki and or Morrow will probably be involved in the trade from a Canes perspective.
As long as they didn’t give up Alexander Nikishin!
Rantanen?! Can’t wait to hear the final word.
I like the early moves by Carolina here
I certainly don’t ever want to hear the phrase “NHL insider” ever again. Nobody had jack**** on this three-team trade prior to news breaking.
Nobody.
Nice tantrum! You are probably new to this stuff but teams are not required to let writers know of upcoming trades. If you continually fall for the insider thing, that’s on you.
Wait… Rantanen AND Necas to Colorado? What do the Hawks get?
Rantanen goes to Carolina, Necas goes to Colorado. Still nothing on the return for the Hawks for Hall from what I’ve seen
Hawks get a 3rd and ate half of Rantanen’s cap hit.
Should have got a 3rd for Hall at least and another for eating that much cap.
Even though the pick the Hawks got back was their own 3rd so it should be the 1st pick in the 3rd Rd this was not a good use of players or money by the Hawks IMO. You’re right they should have gotten at least a 2nd Rd pick if not a 1st for the 3rd retention slot. Kind of a push money wise for them losing Hall’s half a season and picking up Rantanen’s. Hall wasn’t really doing much here anyway. Not really exciting for anyone except Carolina.
Perhaps the Hawks plan to offer sheet someone requiring a 3rd (that must be their own pick).
Funny to watch your clan yap about what a team should have gotten. If they could have gotten more, they would have gotten more. Simple economics.
The money retained on Rantenen alone should get way more than a 3rd rounder even if it is the first pick in the round. That’s just simple NHL economics.
Read before asking questions!
Necas to Colorado! Oh boy
Carolina would rather pay Rants than Necas
As a Canes fan, yes. Necas was so streaky and really didn’t want to be in Raleigh.
They should. Rantanen is one of the best offensive players in the league.
Theyre actually Paying Taylor Hall more money lol, they took on all of Hall’s cap hit and only half of Rantanen’s
They didn’t have enough cap space to do that.
If you look at Spotrac Hall is listed under buyouts with no money yet. So that means if they retain more salary pushed down the road on Hall the trade looks even dumber than it does now.
what?
Wow. Makes Colorado worse this year though they do get an extra year of Necas. The Canes get wayyyy better this year. If he signs an extension in Carolina this could be a steal. Necas is talented but doesn’t have the Rantenen shot. Looks like the market just dropped out of the JT Miller trade. Rangers might get him for peanuts.
It’s a headscratcher. It took COL four years to figure out their goaltending and then they dump the fourth-leading scorer in the league over the past five years?
Or it’s possible that this creates more pressure on teams in Colorado and Carolina’s orbit to bolster their team. It just needs to light a fire under one of Dallas, Minnesota, Toronto or Boston — that proclamation about not buying from Neely is likely reversible if they stay in the hunt — and there’s a bidding war.
Canes better sign him, Necas is a stud.
Last year it was Guentzel. This year Rantanen. Canes always reel in the big name but fail in playoffs due to goaltending.
Maybe Mrazek comes from Chicago…Ha ha
As a Canes fan, I couldn’t agree with you more. For Canes management, goal tenders have never been a priority. They have rolled with so-so tandems for years.
As an avs fan. I hate it on every level. Nothing against necas, but damn. Mikko is a guy you don’t let go.
You can’t afford him anymore!
I’m not sure i agree. There are ways to get him signed. Girard can go, colton makes a bit much, toews is expensive.
I get it, this might be the prudent move for the avs, but it hurts. A lot.
Necas is a very good player, but kotkaniemi is not. This weakens the avs considerably.
Maybe Middle stat goes to the Hawks
Necas isn’t as good as you think he is. He’s so streaky and is going to want huge money after next season. Looking at his goals, then look at his of goals. He scores a lot on the 3 on 3. Kotkaniemi is better than you think, though he’s overpaid. He’s a good 3rd line center.
4.82 until 29-30 is elite 3rd line center, borderline top 6 money though. Kotka made out like a bandit because of a GM squabble, and the Canes are lucky to get out from under that contract.
Strike that — Canes not out from the Kotkaniemi contract yet. I honestly don’t know much about Jack Drury but he looked good when I watched a few Canes games earlier this year. His numbers are paltry though.
I definitely like Drury over Kotkaniemi. Drury can snipe and he plays with a good edge. With the 2nd and other pick, it’s looking closer
Drury looks promising
KK better than Drury.
Drury does fill a serious need with 58% at the dot on a team that averages 44.5% and with Drury being $3M cheaper than KK theres more deadline money to use
Nate dog will not be happy with losing Rantanen but it opens the door for other pick ups before deadline.
He would not have been happy with Rantanen pulling $2mil + per year either. If Rantanen wouldn’t have drew such a hard line on salary he’d still be in Denver. Greed.
When you ask for the most possible money at your job, you are looking out for yourself. When someone else does, it is greed. You’re a hypocrite. Very amusing, but a hypocrite nonetheless.
Would you willingly make less money than you are worth out of loyalty to your current employer, or because making more money than one of your colleagues would make them feel bad? I don’t think so. Ultimately this is a business and you can’t blame guys for prioritizing $$$, especially considering how dangerous hockey is – he could suffer a career ending injury in his next game.
When you’re asking for more than a more complete player you’re wrong. There is no way on earth he was going to get more money than McKinnon.
Anxiously waiting to see the final details. Terrible for the avs as far as this season goes. Maybe there’s some more dominoes to fall
Necas and drury both submitted trade requests at beginning of season
Have to think the Canes have a deal in place to keep Rantanen. If not, that’s alot to give up for a rental. But in the short term at least, Canes are loaded for a Cup run.
Sad that the Avs couldn’t keep a player they drafted and developed.
I guess you could say the same about the Canes giving up Necas. He was drafted and developed in Raleigh. Also if you re-arrange the letters of his name it literally is Canes.
According to Elliotte Friedman, there is no extension for Rantanen in Carolina currently as part of the deal.
Canes could’ve kept Necas, the Avs apparently couldn’t keep the Moose around though.
Necas is no Rantanen.
I doubt there will be; if COL was convinced they could not sign him, he and his agent will go to market. There are teams like WASH who will have $20+M in cap space in the summer.
I’ll bet Utah will throw a huge offer at Ratanen as well.
Canes will not be able to sign Mikko as the owner is cheap and will not give him 12-13 mil a year. They should and build around him and Aho.
LOL
You don’t follow hockey much if you think Tom Dundon is cheap.
I predict Rantenan will get paid, if he wants to stay in Raleigh.
I follow hockey and when your coach tells management to worry about paying the players what they are worth before Rod Brind’Amour got paid as he did 2 years back he know the owner is cheap so does alot of players.
There’s a salary cap. They spend up to the cap. If he wants to stay and fits within cap and they believe he will continue to play at this level they will sign him. That’s all folks.
Exactly right. And, the Canes have an extremely strong cap outlook for a contender. Great cap management.
Please Please Please have Seth Jones be somewhere in this trade!!!!!!!!!
We’ll take a bag of used pucks or broken sticks in return.
Drury could be the steal of the whole deals solid 2 way player . Necas will be a pp specialist in Colorado
Great trade by Colorado
MacFarland just proved there really is someone dumber than Stan B.
He certainly didn’t make his team better for this season. Shame too, because with a fully healthy roster, Avs were one of the teams to beat for the Cup.
@Gbear — This looks a bit like MacFarland putting bogus pressure on Rantanen’s camp to force them into a team friendly deal, only to have it blow up in their faces. Mittelstadt has sort of become a Disgruntled Doug type, recently, and as many of us have read, seems to want out. Maybe they can send him back to Buffalo for two bags of pucks and some dirt.
Team friendly? Or reasonable? It’s unreasonable to expect so much more than McKinnon is making.
Nice haul for COL considering an expiring contract. Also freeing up cap space to potential other deals as well.
Totally agree. Very impressed with the work there.
Now I’d like to see a Marner for Hintz, Bichsel and 2nd. Makes sense for both sides. Marner is good buddies with Duchene.
If I’m Dallas I wouldn’t even trade Hintz for Marner straight up.
Hintz is older and not as good as Marner
Both are good defensively and Hintz being a C helps. Marner is an all-star player, Hintz is not. Dallas doesn’t need Benn, Johnson, Hintz, and Seguin down the middle, they need wingers (yes I know Seguin is on IR). Hintz hs been playing more rw as Dallas has a lot of depth down the middle. A deal structured like this makes sense for both sides whether you like it or not. Marner is by far the best player in that deal and he’s likely sign in Dallas. It’s a win win.
@FTW
Good thing you’re not a GM then.
Chicago just derping their way into this trade. The other two I understand for their own reasons. Don’t think I would’ve pulled this trigger as Colorado though, not a great look.
Worst team in the league just got………worse.
Let’s the tank mode begin
WOW. That’s a huge downgrade for the Avs. The Canes must be ecstatic. Imagine trying to get rid of a guy all offseason and no takers, to all of a sudden being able to add him as a headliner to a trade for one of the best offensive players in the league lol
Me thinks Middlestadt will be on the move too. Avs have $5.6 million in cap space now.
Middlestadt + 2026 1st and Canes 2025 2nd and Cane’s 2026 4th for JT Miller????
Never mind, the Avs are going for CROSBY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Miller has a full NMC and has supposedly stated a desire to be on the East coast US.
Colorado ofc got a bit worse in the deal, but atleast got something instead of nothing and Drury can win faceoffs which Colorado hasn’t been good at the dot
Me thinks Middlestadt will be on the move too. Avs have $5.6 million in cap space now.
Middlestadt + 2026 1st and Canes 2025 2nd and Cane’s 2026 4th for JT Miller????
Never mind, the Avs are going for CROSBY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Repeat it again, then reply to yourself again…
Just remember you heard it here first….TWICE!!!!!
Johnny Two Times, “I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers….”
Surprised Colorado made this deal. Canes did well.
Will believe Carolina owner will actually pay Rantanen when it happens. . He would not pay Guentzel but is paying Kotaniemi. LMAO
My first take away from this biggie is that, The socalled insiders are overpaid, And don’t know a damn thing. Bold move by Eric Tulsky, All in Carolina.
Correction: Hall won the Hart in 2017–18.
Hope this turns out to be good for both teams. Avs certainly was a perfect fit for Rants , not so sure it will be the same elsewhere.
Aho is ridiculously good player but Nate might even top him out.
Problem might remain the same , do you wanna pay more to your winger than your center piece..
First off, Rantanen will fit perfectly fine with Carolina & possibly even better than he did with Colorado. Great players typically adjust pretty well.
Carolina will have a little over $31M in cap space this offseason, so they will be able to easily afford Rantanen’s $14M AAV extension he wants. Carolina got one of the premium goal scorers in the NHL. Carolina will have no problem signing a winger like Rantanen to more money than they gave their top center Sebastian Aho who’s an excellent player but he’s not an elite scorer like Rantanen.
Massive win by Carolina. Colorado is much worse, but probably felt boxed in with salary considerations. Chicago was merely a facilitator, but their fee for services rendered seems paltry.
I said Mikko Rantanen wouldn’t be staying in Colorado & I was right again (most were saying he was going to stay, nope, wrong). Carolina will have a little over $31M in cap space this offseason, so they will be able to easily afford Rantanen’s $14M AAV extension he wants. Carolina got a premium goal scorer. Taylor Hall brings additional depth which never hurts either.
Colorado got Martin Necas who will more than likely fill their C2 position that Casey Middlestadt has failed to do. Jack Drury brings additional depth. Necas is a good solid player but he’s not a great elite player like Rantanen. Colorado will surely feel the loss to various extents of Rantanen moving forward.
Chicago giving up a lot to just get a pick back. And thought for sure the Avs would have Hall coming back as well.
Did Carolina apply to the Make A Wish foundation or something? They get an elite top-line player at a discount, a middle-six player with upside, and a patridge in a pear tree.
Colorado gets a decent second line guy, a prospect, and picks. I guess they’re suddenly rebuilding???
What in the world does Chicago get out of this? A 3rd round pick? I thought they were rebuilding? This ain’t how you do that.
Av’s have $5M in cap space, 2 new picks to deal and a Middlestadt to deal for a real 2C, and I don’t think he is from the Canucks!
Correct, Chicago gives up a top 6 player and a prospect, take on millions in salary and get a measly pick in return. Total bummer if you’re a Chicago fan or Bedard looking for help.
I had a bit of a think, and looking strictly in cap terms, this move frees up $6M in cap space for Chicago, allowing them to take on an additional bad contract or two. They probably would have had to retain to trade Hall anyway, so this saves them a retention slot and clears $6M in cap space.
I don’t hate it as much now. I’ll hate it way more if they never actually use that cap space to acquire futures.
The irony of reading this after all the Hertl trade love where they did the exact opposite.
Good trade for Carolina except for Hall. I’d flip him somewhere else as soon as possible – don’t want him on my team. Dead weight.
Better do it soon – the guy is one shower away from LTIR…
I dislike this trade for all 3 teams*.
On paper, getting Necas and Drury for a guy you can’t keep should be a win, but…I might have just tried to win a Cup this year with Rantanen. Necas is nice but no guarantee he clicks with McKinnon the way Rantanen did.
Unless Hall has zero value, CHI should have gotten more.
Canes gave up a lot for a rental in a year when much of their roster is in flux and this is far from certain to put them over the top.
*Now, IF, the Canes resign Rantanen, then huge win for them.
The Avalanche did open up some cap space too, they definitely can’t fully replace him but that extra cap space will certainly upgrade another area of their lineup as well
Problem is what do they have left to swap? Dumping top picks for a this team that isn’t its old dominant self might be too much.
Next shoe to drop is Mittelstadt – either NYI (for Nelson) or Philly (for Risto)…
I get it from the Avs perspective. They have a talented roster they built through the draft and eventually they wouldn’t be able to afford everyone. They get a capable replacement in Necas on a fraction of the cost. The Blackhawks though what are they doing? I know Taylor Hall hasn’t been good in a long time but all they get is their own third round pick back while also retaining half of Rantanen’s contract? They should get that at a minimum to take on that salary. Add an extra 4th round pick the following year. Something!
It seems so many people are missing the point here as far as Colorado’s position! Here are a few things to keep in mind…
1. Colorado was NEVER going to pay Rantanen more than MacKinnon! Nor should they! They made that very clear! And they were not going to let him walk out the door for nothing!
2. Cale Makar is due for an extension next summer (July 2026)! Colorado CANNOT pay MacKinnon, Rantanen & Makar whatever they want and still have the ability to fill out the roster adequately! The decision was Mackinnon & Rantanen or MacKinnon & Makar! They chose correctly!
3. Depth is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL! Colorado is seeing that firsthand, this season especially! They have had a healthy MacKinnon, Rantanen & Makar, and have struggled mightily with all the injuries/suspension to key positional players as well as depth players! If you’re paying 3 players around 40% of your salary cap, your depth is going to suffer a great deal! You need depth to deal with the inevitable injuries & unforeseen things that happen during the season! (also, don’t forget that Toews makes 7.25 million so 4 players would push that closer to 50% of the cap!)
4. Colorado is NOT trying to replace Rantanen with Necas!!! Necas is a part of the solution to replace Rantanen. It is going to take multiple players to replace Mikko’s production. And it is possible to do so! Colorado now has more cap space to do that and add more depth! ESPECIALLY if Landeskog doesn’t return until the playoffs! Which is still very up in the air if he returns at all!
5. Drury has a chance to be an absolute steal in this transaction! He’s a young forward with talent and plays with an edge! He is also extremely good in the faceoff circle! Which Colorado needs desperately! If he pans out, it’s a big win for a depth piece! Colorado also received a 2nd & 4th round pick to use however they see fit!
YES! I HATE TO SEE RANTANEN LEAVE! But Mikko wanted his payday! That was more important to him than staying in Colorado and keeping the band together! It’s unfortunate but…BYE!!! In my humble opinion I believe Colorado made the right decision here! Sure, as a fan I’d like to see a little more in return but, what fan of any team wouldn’t?
The reality is you CANNOT pay a couple guys 35% – 40% of your salary cap and still fill out the roster adequately to realistically compete for a Cup! Look at Edmonton! Yes, I know they made the finals last year, finally, (with out of nowhere decent goaltending in the playoffs) but they still couldn’t get over the hump! And now Draisaitl makes 14 million a year, and this summer they’re going to pay McDavid 18-20 million a year! That’s CRAZY! That’s 33-35% of their salary cap on 2 players! (assuming the cap goes to 97 million)! And they consistently, year in and year out, get bounced in the playoffs because of the lack of depth pieces to get it done!
I agreed with you until the part about Edmonton – they were literally a single win away from winning the cup last year. A few bounces go their way in that game and they are the defending champs. To suggest they can’t win or “get over the hump” as currently constructed is simply asinine.
“get over the hump” is referring to winning it all. Which is all that matters when it comes to everyone’s messiah, Connor McJesus! And I do not believe they can do it as currently constructed! And more so when they pay him close to 20 million per year this summer!
So, no worries, we can agree to disagree!
p.s. I f**cking can’t stand McDavid! So there’s that! LOL!!!
While I get the argument that you don’t want to lose a player for no return to free agency, is obtaining a 2nd round pick that will be around the 60th pick in the draft worth weakening your chance at winning the Cup this season? Sure, they get Necas in return, but the cap space the Avs would’ve had next off-season could well have positioned them to sign a better player than Necas.
All in all, I like the Canes direction better here.