Sources: Carolina willing to keep Rantanen past deadline even if he rejects franchise-record contract offer

Despite the stalling contract talks between the Carolina Hurricanes and Mikko Rantanen, there’s no guarantee that the Hurricanes will look to deal the Finnish winger before next week’s trade deadline.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli joined Coast to Coast on Prime Video on Thursday night to provide an update on the ongoing situation between Rantanen and the Hurricanes.

“I think it’s helpful to dispel a few myths,” said Seravalli on Coast to Coast. “One, the Carolina Hurricanes and Mikko Rantanen’s camp are very much still in active conversation. They’ve put a franchise-record deal on the table, and they knew what the parameters were going to be before acquiring him. They actually got permission to speak to his camp before pulling off the deal, knew what he would be looking for, and feel like they’re in the neighborhood to meet that.”

“Two, they haven’t got an answer yet, one way or the other. And three, I’m told that even if they get by hard no from Mikko Rantanen, they will very much consider keeping him.”

“Here’s the way I see it. If the Carolina Hurricanes get a hard no from Mikko Rantanen’s camp that he’s not going to re-sign there before next Friday, then in order to deal him, they’d have to go out and get a better deal in return that makes and improves this team’s chances to win the Stanley Cup. They know how hard it was to get a game changer like Mikko Rantanen, and they believe that he is still very much a fit even though the production has been down, and that in order to move off of him, they’d have to get something better back in return. That’s the view from Carolina.”

Rantanen was traded to the Hurricanes on January 24th in a three team deal that saw the Colorado Avalanche acquire Martin Necas and Jack Drury in return. The Canes also acquired Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in the deal.

Rantanen was dealt after uncertainties surrounding a contract extension with the Avalanche led them to moving on from him in an attempt to get a strong return for him. Now with the Hurricanes, Carolina is seeing a similar issue, but appears to not be set on moving him within the next week if Rantanen doesn’t sign an extension.

Rantanen is in the final year of a six-year contract with a $9.25 million cap hit.

Rantanen hasn’t adjusted to playing with the Hurricanes so far since the trade, as he has just 1 goal and 3 points in 8 games in Carolina. This comes after beginning the season with 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games with the Avalanche.