Insider Reveals Four Teams Mikko Rantanen Was Willing to Sign Long-Term Deal With

With the NHL Trade Deadline past us, and we look forward to the remainder of the regular season and the highly anticipated Stanley Cup Playoffs, we can get a bit of a clearer picture who is going to be the tough cookies of the league and who pose the best chance at winning it all.

Mikko Rantanen is going to be a huge part of Dallas' push to the Cup, and with a deep and balanced roster like theirs, it wouldn't be surprising to see them end up in the Finals.

Though he was shopped around by Carolina, he decided to sign his extension in Dallas, with several teams in the running.

Well, we know who those teams are now thanks to NHL Insider Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

According to him, the four teams that Rantanen was willing to sign an extension with were the Dallas Stars (obviously), Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

All four teams are Stanley Cup contenders with the Golden Knights and Panthers heavy favorites to meet in the end.

Though Rantanen settled on Dallas, it would have been hard to imagine any of those teams not having a legitimate shot if they had the Finn in their lineup.

Vegas would have just basically secured the Pacific and would give the Winnipeg Jets a good run for their money. Florida would just get incredibly stacked, as if they weren't already, and the Maple Leafs need that bonafide playoff producer to get them over the hump.

He's already made an impact for the Stars, recording three points so far since coming over at the deadline.

This season, split three ways with Colorado, Carolina, and Dallas, Rantanen has 73 points in 64 games (29G, 44A) while adding a plus-9 in 21:53 TOI.

The condition of Rantanen's trade was that he sign an extension, and he did so to the tune of $12M for the next eight years and set the precedent for the free agent market come July 1 which means the likes of Mitch Marner and Brock Boeser are in line for big paydays.

For now, Rantanen will settle into life down in Texas, meanwhile the other three teams will end up being just fine, although with some questions around the Panthers lineup, and the Maple Leafs' consistencies; it might be Vegas who will be closest to winning even though they missed out on Mikko.