Who won the Rantanen Trade?

Friday night saw the NHL’s first major blockbuster trade of the season with former Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen moving to the Hurricanes, and Martin Necas heading to Colorado. Oh and Taylor Hall has found himself in Raleigh as well. After this massive trade, i'll be breaking down the three teams involved, and who won the trade overall, as the first major trade of the season is a big one. 

The Colorado Avalanche- 7/10

Now the Colorado Avalanche found themselves in a standoff with star winger Mikko Rantanen ever since the Leon Draisaitl $112 million renewal, as the two time 100 point scorer demanded an increase on his salary come July. Rantanen who has been reigning MVP Nathan Mackinnon’s right hand man for years has had trouble reaching agreements with Colorado on a salary, as he believes following Draisaitl renewal that he deserves a similar amount, somewhere in between the 13 and 16 million dollar a year range, but the Avalanche have yet to agree with the Finnish international. With the disagreement on both ends came looming trade rumors, and on the 24th of January, those rumors became true when sources confirmed that the Avalanche winger would be headed to Carolinas in return for star centre Martin Necas, along with Jack Drury and a 2nd and a 4th round draft pick. For Avs fans, it's not ideal giving up a winger who has two consecutive 100 point and 40 goal seasons, but Mikko’s exit looked inevitable in free agency had he not been traded. The Fin currently has 64 points in 49 games with 25 goals and has been on a role with Mackinnon this year, but will now take his talents to Carolina to play alongside All Star centre Sebastian Aho, but how exactly has the Avalanche benefitted from this trade. Well while giving up a franchise player isn't exactly what Avs fans wanted to hear, a player like Martin Necas isn't anyone to complain about. Yes he’s not Mikko, and yes he’s had a bit of a drop off, but he still has the ability to be a great first line winger, or a great second line centre for the Avs, and will be a solid top six player for the Avs in their playoff push. Necas currently has 55 points on the year, 39 of those being assists giving some hope for Nathan Mackinnon that the puck will still inevitably be on the end of his stick at the end of the play. While Rantanen was a perfect player for the Avs, it looked like the relationship between the front office and coaches was a big problem, and had already set his mind on leaving the team in the off season, so offloading him now was probably the right idea, and getting back a player like Necas and a couple of valuable draft picks is a pretty good haul for the Avs, while still being in a good spot midway through the year, so I’d give the Avs a 7/10 on this trade.

The Carolina Hurricanes- 10/10

Coming out of this trade as a Hurricanes fan, how can you not be happy? Yeah getting rid of Necas may be a bit of a bummer, but getting back a player like Rantanen and Taylor Hall on the side, is a pretty good haul if you ask me. Now getting rid of Necas may have left a big spot open, but filling with a franchise level player like Mikko Rantanen is just what the Canes may need to keep their push for the cup alive. While Necas was the top points scorer for the Canes this season, they still have Sebastian Aho who is more than capable of playing alongside someone like Mikko, and will now have two great players alongside him in Rantanen and Svechnikov to feed him through on goal. Having to give up Necas probably wasn't the hardest decision for the Canes front office as trade talks were looming throughout the season, and moving him for a player who also wanted out was the perfect situation for Carolina. With the Rantanen acquisition, he joins the team as the teams top point scorer with 64, Aho brewing second with 49, but those numbers are guaranteed to skyrocket with a playmaker of such excellent ability like Rantanen on his wing. Now with the Rantanen trade talks, it was unlikely the Canes would be a fit for Rantanen with his $9.45 million cap hit compared to Necas’s $6.5 million cap hit, so here's where Chicago entered the mix. With the Blackhawks heavily into another tank year, they were looking to some of their older stars such as Taylor Hall and Seth Jones as potential trade bait to open up roster spaces for some of those younger prospects like Ethan Del Mastro. With Hall looking to already be out of the plans in Chicago, he was healthy scratched at the last second prior to their game against the Lightning, and hours later was traded to Carolina. Chicago played a vital part in the Rantanen trade as they dealt with Carolina individually to retain 50% of Rantanen's massive salary, and found the perfect place to move Taylor Hall. The Blackhawks got a 3rd round pick in return for their troubles, but in reality took a pretty big win in this trade by facilitating a massive blockbuster trade, and getting a future prospect as part of the deal. Without Chicago the trade potentially wouldn't have happened, but Carolinas getting Rantanen and Hall is a massive win for them and their fans. Despite being a former Hart trophy winner, Hall hasn't had the best of seasons with only 24 points in 46 games, he will look to find his form again in a playoff team like Carolina, and will most likely be a big factor in that Hurricanes third line alongside Kotkaniemi and Robinson. Iv'e given the Hurricanes a 10/10 on this trade simply because of Rantanen. Yeah getting Hall is good too, but acquiring one of the best wingers in the league is massive for the Canes and their push for the cup, and acquiring a veteran role player like Hall is also handy in a team that will benefit massively from a good forechecking forward like Hall.

Chicago Blackhawks- 5/10

Now this trade may never have happened had the Hawks not facilitated the retention of Rantanen's salary, but despite getting only a 3rd round pick, it's still a decent pickup in return for a player like Hall. After only playing a handful of games over the last two seasons, Hall no doubt has been a decent locker room guy for the Hawks, but with his recent struggles, and current rebuild process the Hawks are in, it was probably the right time to leave. The idea of trading Hall was simply due to clearing roster spots and some big cap for the Hawks that could be very useful in the offseason, and with players like Del Mastro looking to earn a full time roster spot, Hall’s trade was definitely imminent. Moving him to the Canes isn't all bad because he will move to a great team pushing for the playoffs, but getting a free roster spot and a third round pick isn't the best but isn't the worst outcome for the Hawks, but despite playing a middle man role in the trade, they did some pretty decent roster management and business for the future therefore I've given them a 5/10.