Insider Reveals How Close Leafs Came to Landing Mikko Rantanen
The Dallas Stars acquired star forward Mikko Rantanen in a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, but how close was he to coming to the Maple Leafs?
Mikko Rantanen is now officially a member of the Dallas Stars, having been acquired in a major trade with the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Logan Stankoven and several conditional draft selections.
But just how close was he to joining the Toronto Maple Leafs? Per NHL analyst David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Leafs were in on Rantanen and he was even willing to sign an extension with them.
So there was a 4-team preferred list... and my understanding is obviously Dallas, Florida, Toronto, and Edmonton.
Those were the 4-team preferred list and I can confirm with a million percent certainty that he was willing to sign in Toronto and he was willing to sign in Edmonton.
After the Marner situation was cleared, Carolina wanted Matthew Knies in a package and every sense I got was that Toronto didn't want to do that.
So they shifted to the 2 prospects, the 2 firsts, and I believe there was something else in there but they liked Dallas' offer, they wanted a proven guy at the NHL-level in Logan Stankoven and they went with that one.
Those were the 4-team preferred list and I can confirm with a million percent certainty that he was willing to sign in Toronto and he was willing to sign in Edmonton.
After the Marner situation was cleared, Carolina wanted Matthew Knies in a package and every sense I got was that Toronto didn't want to do that.
So they shifted to the 2 prospects, the 2 firsts, and I believe there was something else in there but they liked Dallas' offer, they wanted a proven guy at the NHL-level in Logan Stankoven and they went with that one.
A Stormy Situation For The Carolina Hurricanes
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour recently disclosed that Rantanen informed him that there were only 4 teams that he was willing to stay with long-term, and that the Hurricanes weren't one of them.
Despite Rantanen's agent pushing back against Brind'Amour's claims, Pagnotta reports that the existence of 4 teams was in fact legitimate.
But because Carolina's alleged preferred target in Mitch Marner refused to waive his no-trade clause, they moved on and executed the deal with the Stars.
Rantanen then signed a lengthy eight-year extension with the Stars, keeping him there for the long haul, and giving Dallas a big advantage heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Finnish phenom has 73 points in 64 games (29G, 44A) while splitting time with Colorado, Carolina, and Dallas.
| POLL | ||
MARS 12 | 491 ANSWERS Insider Reveals How Close Leafs Came to Landing Mikko Rantanen Would the Leafs have gone all the way to the Stanley Cup with Mikko Rantanen? | ||
| Yes | 156 | 31.8 % |
| No | 335 | 68.2 % |
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