It’s hard to believe that after being moved from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes in a surprise move, Mikko Rantanen’s name is being put out there again as a potential trade target. The Hurricanes have reportedly been quietly shopping the superstar as his contract is up at the end of the season, with reports that they may be willing to retain salary on the remainder of his deal.
The Edmonton Oilers would make a lot of sense as a team for Rantanen, and at a low price of $2.3M, it’s a no-brainer.
What would Mikko Rantanen bring to the Edmonton Oilers?
The Finnish first-round pick has been an above a point-per-game player nearly every season since breaking into the league. This culminated with the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup in 2021–22, where Rantanen had 25 points in 20 games.
While he is typically a right winger, the left-shot forward can play any of the three upfront positions, giving teams a lot of lineup flexibility. He did his best work alongside Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado. While playing there, he was used to playing very heavy minutes, averaging over 20-minutes-per-night. In Carolina, who play a more egalitarian system, he’s been down to 18 and change so far this year.
This is exactly what the Oilers need right now. The team has two game-breaking forwards right now in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, but they could use more support in their top-six, which includes Corey Perry, Jeff Skinner, Zach Hyman, and Victor Arvidsson.
While the team does have good strength down the middle, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique centring the other two lines, there is help needed on the wings. Adding a bona-fide superstar who has won the Cup is massive for this team to help them finally win one themselves.
Further, when the Oilers do go nuclear and pair McDavid and Draisaitl together, the rest of their depth suffers. Having a player like Rantanen gives the team two options. They can either have him on the top line, making it the best line in the NHL by some distance, or can use him on the second line to provide some more support would be great for this team’s depth.
On top of that, to have Rantanen on the power play alongside Hyman and Evan Bouchard would make the Oilers lethal with the man advantage. They would then be able to spread Nugent-Hopkins to the second unit, giving them even more strength up front than they already have.
What would it cost the Edmonton Oilers to acquire Mikko Rantanen?
Rantanen is not going to be cheap to acquire. Superstars do not come on the market very often and when they do, the cost to get them is going to be steep. The biggest factor working in the Oilers’ favour is that he does have a nine-team no trade list. The odds are Edmonton is not one of those teams and that the Oilers give him a great chance of winning another cup.
However, the Oilers will almost certainly not be able to afford him after this season. Even with a projected $19M in cap room for next year, the Oilers still need to re-sign Evan Bouchard, which will likely come in over $7M as well as add a number of depth pieces to the lineup. Rantanen will be looking for upwards of $11M, which will be beyond the Oilers’ capacity.
However, as a pure rental, this makes a ton of sense and should bring his cost down substantially. The Canes got Rantanen in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and a second-round pick. Necas is an high-end centreman, while Drury is a depth centreman, both of which were needs of the Avs.
For the Oilers, it will likely cost them future assets, with a first-round pick almost certainly part of the deal. The Oilers traded away their first-round pick this year for a first round selection last year to take Sam O’Reilly 32nd overall. However, they do have their first-round pick next year and the year after which could be in pay.
The deal will also likely include a prospect, with one of O’Reilly or Matthew Savoie being at the top of the ask list. The Canes would likely also inquire about Matvei Petrov, Eemil Vinni, or Beau Akey as part of the package.
The Oilers will need to make the cap math work to add Rantanen, and it would likely be Jeff Skinner that they try to move back out east. He has a ton of potential and needs a larger role, but the fit just hasn’t worked out in Edmonton. Moving him back to the east, where he can play a bigger role on a more balanced team like the Canes would be helpful for him and would be a good fit for Carolina as well.
Carolina could also use another winger in their lineup, as they have played Rantanen on the left wing of late. Skinner could naturally fit their second line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jackson Blake.
Does adding Mikko Rantanen make sense for the Edmonton Oilers?
The logical argument against this is that the Oilers have bigger needs. Whether that is in net or on the blueline, the team really doesn’t need another winger in the lineup.
But when you get a chance to acquire a bona-fide superstar, you take that chance every single time. Acquiring Rantanen would be a slam dunk for this team, and can only help their playoff odds. Adding a proven goalscorer who can put the puck in the net when the intensity ramps up in the playoffs would be great for a team that just needed one more ounce to take home the Cup last year.
And while this addition won’t improve the team in net, it does enhance their ability to outscore their opponents. This is an exceptionally talented team, and adding Rantanen will be a major addition. Even if it costs future assets and the likes of Jeff Skinner, Rantanen is well worth the cost, even if it is just for the rest of the year.
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