Well, a lot of things have happened since Mikko Rantanen‘s Dallas Stars trade. The right winger has also played two games for the Stars after his debut against the Edmonton Oilers. But as the dust of trade was settling down, the Carolina Hurricanes head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, stirred the pot of talks and debates after a shocking revelation. 

On being asked about the trade that sent Rantanen to the Dallas Stars, Brind’Amour said, “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?” This started a row of debates on how Mikko reacted to his franchise. It also questioned his loyalty toward the organization he was part of. 

Of the four teams interested in Mikko Rantanen, NHL insider, David Pagnotta, revealed three team names. Pagnotta’s retweet said, “Brind’Amour revealed there were 4 teams Rantanen said he’d ‘play for.” Dallas was clearly one. I believe Florida and Vegas were two others. That leaves one more.” 

The fourth one? That’s also in the tweet if you look closely enough. Pagnotta made it easier for those still wondering when he wrote, “”Leaves”… was the hint” in the comments.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were closer than any other team to acquiring Mikko Rantanen from the Hurricanes. NHL insider Nick Kypreos also revealed that the Toronto Maple Leafs can be a good spot. It was actually the Maple Leafs’s three-asset trade, which was already prepared for the former Hurricanes right winger. And what were the three assets the Leafs wanted to trade?

According to The Star’s Nick Kypreos, the Leafs would have had to send a package including one of their top prospects (Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten), plus Bobby McMann and a draft pick should do it in order to land Rantanen. But why didn’t they go ahead with the deal? 

According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, “I find it very hard to believe that if Rantanen got out there, Toronto wouldn’t at least see what it’d take to do it.” And the Maple Leafs did exactly that by offering both Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan along with two first-round draft picks. But Kypreos reported that the Hurricanes refused as they did not want to entertain the possibility of facing Rantanen in the playoffs and so preferred to send him to the Western Conference instead.

But you know what? As Mikko Rantanen was about to leave the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played only 11 games, the franchise made an honest gesture to save fans money. 

Free nameplate replacement for Carolina Hurricanes fans

It was actually a clever move by the Carolina Pro Shop. Just when the Mikko Rantanen trade was happening, the merchandise authority of the franchise dropped an important update on X about jerseys. You know as the playoffs are coming closer and closer, fans might have thought Rantanen would not go anywhere. But the franchise saved fan’s dollars for merch, which was from $93 to $295. 

The Carolina Pro Shop posted on X, on March 9, “Free nameplate replacement. If you purchased a Rantanen jersey from the Carolina Pro Shop in-store or online, bring in your jersey and proof of purchase, and we’ll replace the nameplate with the name of your choice for free until August 31.” Well, this was a class move by the Hurricanes as they did not want to lose on both sides. Though Mikko did not want to stay, fans’ financial loss could have hampered the franchise’s image and obviously invited a backlash. But that didn’t happen.

Now that Rantanen is gone and fans have the opportunity to get a new nameplate for free? Which player do you think is going to be the most popular pick. Let us know in the comments.