Rantanen Trade: The Stars had offered Jason Robertson to the Hurricanes

Mathis Therrien
Rantanen Trade: The Stars had offered Jason Robertson to the Hurricanes
Credit: Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We all remember the huge Mikko Rantanen situation that unfolded at the 2025 trade deadline, when the then-Colorado Avalanche forward was traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Dallas Stars in the space of just a few days.

Rantanen had been caught off guard by the Avalanche when he was traded to Carolina, where it quickly became clear that he had no intention of re-signing and staying long-term.

The Canes therefore had to quickly change course to avoid losing Rantanen for nothing over the summer, and Eric Tulsky, Carolina's general manager, managed to send Rantanen to Dallas.

Even though he found himself stuck with Rantanen, Tulsky managed to pull off a good deal for his team, acquiring an excellent young player in Logan Stankoven and draft picks in exchange for a player who wanted nothing to do with his team.

However, what wasn't known was that another player nearly got sent by the Stars as part of the Rantanen trade.

In fact, according to Chris Johnston, the Stars reportedly offered Jason Robertson to the Hurricanes in exchange for Mikko Rantanen, but the Canes preferred Stankoven.

That's what insider Chris Johnston claimed on his podcast this summer, after hearing that Robertson was clearly on the table for the Hurricanes.

That's still huge news, especially given how much the Dallas Stars struggled this summer with Robertson and his salary demands.

The Stars ultimately re-signed him to a one-year, $12 million deal, but let's just say that before that deal was finalized, Robertson's name was all over the trade rumors.

And now we're learning that the Stars' efforts to shop their star forward didn't just start this summer—they were ready to trade him for Mikko Rantanen.

As for the Hurricanes, I'm pretty surprised they preferred a straight-up trade of Stankoven for Robertson, but I think they surely preferred the “package” that came with Stankoven—namely, the two conditional first-round picks and the two third-round picks.

In the end, Stankoven has proven to be an excellent player for Carolina, especially in the recent playoffs, where he led his team to the Stanley Cup with 11 goals and 16 points in 19 games.

I don't think either team regrets its decision regarding the Mikko Rantanen trade.


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