Mikko Rantanen’s trade saga came to an end after the Stars-Hurricanes trade, but his name is not getting out of the headlines anytime soon. That’s for sure. After shifting to Dallas, what Rantanen thought about the last days at Carolina Hurricanes would shock any hockey fan. 

When he was asked about the Mikko Rantanen trade on the Adam Gold Show, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour revealed, “When [Rantanen] showed up, he said, ‘There’s four teams I’ll go play for, and you’re not one of them.’ And the question is, should we have known that before we signed him?” He seemed disappointed that they had no idea about what Rantanen’s plans were ahead of moving to his team. 

The head coach also added, “Mikko was the only one that I’ve been associated with that said, ‘This is not for me.’ I think there are other circumstances. It’s not because of hockey, it’s because, I think, his family — it wasn’t for him.” The Coach said, and also continued, “Good, I appreciate that, he let us know that. We probably should’ve known that before we made the deal. Maybe that changes how we go about things.” But the coach didn’t stop there. He also compared Rantanen to Jake Guentzel. 

Guentzel was recently traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. But talking about him in the context of Mikko, Rod Brind’Amour said, “Guentzel was the totally opposite thing. If we had offered him the contract we offered him at the end, he’d be here. But we didn’t, for whatever reason. That’s a different conversation.” Jake was traded to the Lightning by the Hurricanes for a 3rd-round pick in the 2025 draft on June 30, 2024. 

The Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs were Mikko’s top priorities before the Dallas Stars trade. In exchange, the Canes picked up 22-year-old forward Logan Stankoven, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a conditional first-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, a third-round pick in the 2026 draft, and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. And while the Hurricanes were disappointed that they had to let the Finnish star go, GM Eric Tulsky told reporters that “the upside of having that [Rantanen’s trade] work out long term is worth that risk.” Rantanen, however, wasn’t as kind when he reflected on his time at the Hurricanes camp.

Mikko Rantanen is “happy that it’s over”

In a recent Finnish interview, Rantanen blurted out things that shouldn’t be said. He also said that the last week has been so tough for him. But after that, Mikko just dropped nukes one by one. While starting off with the trade saga, Mikko recalled, “First came the surprising trade out of Colorado. It was a shock. I didn’t have a contract extension with Carolina and had no information about the extension. It was stressful. I wondered what was going on here.” Well, that can be true, as the right winger was fully encircled by lots of trade rumors. The Los Angeles Kings, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Chicago Blackhawks were the top teams everybody was connecting Mikko Rantanen to. 

But after the Hurricanes-Stars trade, it looks like Rantanen just wanted this. “I’m happy that it’s over. It’s easier mentally now, and I probably won’t have to think about things like that for eight years,” Rantanen said. But he didn’t stop there. Mikko admitted why he chose to play for the Dallas Stars. “Dallas plays a lot with the puck. That’s one of the big reasons why I wanted to come here. And there are a lot of good players here.” But there is a twist in why Mikko Rantanen turned down the Hurricanes’ $13.5 million contract offer. 

The Sporting News reported just a day after Mikko’s trade that Texas State’s tax laws held some serious sway over his decision. According to Bryan Murphy from The Sporting News, Rantanen’s camp was gunning for a $14 million AAV deal, but none of the interested teams were willing to cough up that much. In the end, he decided to roll with the $12 million offer—thanks to Texas’s chill tax laws, making it a pretty sweet deal!

Since touching down in Dallas, Rantanen’s already hit the ice for two games. His debut was against the Oilers, where the Stars took an OT loss (5-4), but he still showed out with a goal and an assist. Fast forward to today’s matchup against the Canucks—Dallas came out on top, and Mikko found the net again, bumping his season tally up to 29!

Ever since he landed in Dallas, the head coach and the team have been pumped to have Mikko Rantanen in the mix. Now, let’s see how he boosts the second-place squad in the Central Division on their quest for the Stanley Cup!