Countdown to TradeCentre: Rantanen gives Hurricanes clarity and is now back on the block

The NHL's March 7 Trade Deadline is tomorrow at 3pm ET and teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell, and on which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Rantanen back on the block?

Just over a month after being acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes, it appears Mikko Rantanen could once again be on the move before Friday's deadline. 

The Hurricanes spent big to add Rantanen, sending Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-rounder to the Colorado Avalanche. The Hurricanes, who also received Nils Juntorp from Colorado, sent a third-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in the trade in exchange for them eating half of Rantanen's $9.25 million cap hit and forward Taylor Hall. 

In the weeks since, Rantanen has struggled to find his more than point per game form from his time with the Avalanche and has elected against signing a long-term deal in Carolina before the deadline. 

As a result, the 28-year-old winger could be flipped again over the next 36 hours. 

"Probably as expected, but league sources confirm that Carolina has received clarity from Mikko Rantanen's camp as far as not being ready to make a decision on the team's contract offer by Friday's trade deadline," TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun wrote Thursday on X. "Hence, Carolina talking to teams and seeing for real what the trade market is for him. It comes down to weighing best trade offers on the table versus keeping Rantanen as a rental... let's see how it goes."

Rantanen has two goals and six points in 12 games with Carolina after posting 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games with the Avalanche prior to the trade. 

In the last year of a six-year, $55.5 million deal, Rantanen is carrying a cap hit of $4.625 million in Carolina and that could be halved again if a team eats salary if he is traded for a second time. 

"Well, we can't say with 100 per cent certainty that he'll be moved, but certainly what we can say now is that the Hurricanes appear to be upping their efforts, at least to see what that market looks like for Mikko Rantanen and where this started was, you know a week or two ago they were listening to offers, obviously having some discussions with Mikko Rantanen's agent about what the future might look like," TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston explained Wednesday on Insider Trading. 

"Well, now that they know he will not be signing an extension or contemplating one before Friday, they've actually proactively gone out and been reaching out to other teams on Rantanen and so, this is a really fascinating situation for all kinds of reasons, starting with what you mentioned, he's probably, I think, safe to say the most accomplished player that could move by this deadline. The Hurricanes have already given up so much to get him, while other teams are having serious discussions with less than 48 hours to go, before the deadline about getting Mikko Rantanen."

The Hurricanes spent big to acquire Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline last season and later saw the pending unrestricted free agent join the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency. 

Sharks listening on Ferraro

The San Jose Sharks are listening to trade offers on defenceman Mario Ferraro, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports.

Ferraro, 26, has five goals and 11 points in 63 games this season. He remains signed through next season at a cap hit of $3.25 million. 

"It doesn't mean they'll move him," LeBrun wrote on X. "Happy to keep him. But given the small number of D on the trade market, Sharks are seeing what comes their way."

Ferraro sits second on the Sharks in average ice time this season at 21:05 per game, behind Jake Walman's 23:10. Cody Ceci previously sat second in that category before he was traded to the Dallas Stars in a deal with Mikael Granlund last month. 

The Sharks have been among the most active teams ahead of the deadline, trading goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday before acquiring defenceman Vincent Desharnais from the Pittsburgh Penguins later in the day. 

Selected by the Sharks in the second round of the 2017 draft, Ferraro has 17 goals and 85 points in 393 career games. 

Will Schenn's stay in Pittsburgh be a short one?

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators caught some by surprise on Wednesday when the two apparent sellers swung a deal with each other.

The Predators sent veteran defenceman Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak to the Penguins in exchange for forward Michael Bunting and a fourth-round pick in 2026.

Schenn is signed through next season at a cap hit of $2.75 million, but at 35, he doesn't appear to fit with the current plan in Pittsburgh. 

TSN Hockey Insiders Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger both reported following the deal that the Penguins will at least explore the trade market for Schenn before the deadline.

"Yeah, two sellers doing business doesn’t seem to make sense at the deadline, but in this case, I do think Pittsburgh will at least listen and gauge the market on Luke Schenn," Johnston said on Insider Trading. "Where it’s at with him, obviously some familiarity there with Kyle Dubas who brought him to Toronto in 2023 at the deadline. Luke Schenn is signed through next season and I think the Penguins are very comfortable having him be part of their team if the market isn’t there.

"They’ve got to get a sense of what could he get, but I’ll tell you this, you look at Trade Bait, not a lot of defencemen on there, so I think if the offers are strong we see him flipped in the next couple days."

Schenn, 35, has a goal and five points in 61 games with the Predators this season. The 6-foot-2 right-shot defenceman is in the second season of a three-year, $8.25 million deal with an annual cap hit of $2.75 million. 

Drafted fifth overall by the Maple Leafs in 2008, Schenn has 44 goals and 203 points in 1,057 career games split between the Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Predators.

Schenn is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, helping the Lightning win championships in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021.

Leafs' pursuit of a centre continues

The Toronto Maple Leafs watched have watched their Atlantic Divisions rivals get stronger in the past week with the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning both pulling off significant trades. 

The Panther bolstered their blueline in a major deal for Seth Jones and the Tampa Bay Lightning added forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde, giving up two first-round picks in that trade. 

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports the Maple Leafs remain active in trade talks, with the team on the hunt for centre help. 

"Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs are as eager as ever to acquire that number two centre or worst case, the number three centre," Dreger explained on Insider Trading. "But I don't think that the targets have changed a whole lot despite the reality of where the St. Louis Blues are and that's right near the playoff line in the Western Conference. Treliving is going to continue to push Doug Armstrong and end until he says, ‘we're not trading the captain.’ And then you've got, of course, Brock Nelson, you've got Scott Laughton and you have some other options, but for me it's that 1-2 scenario between Schenn and Brock Nelson.

"Would Toronto consider trading all three of their young prospects? You're talking about Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten and Ben Danford for Brayden Schenn. Is that even enough? And the belief out there is as long as Armstrong is willing to listen that means that he's absolutely fishing and shopping for an unbelievable return, and if it's not Toronto, is it a team that is willing to also give roster players, right? Because the players that I've mentioned out of Toronto aren't ready to be NHL roster players, so still looking at Schenn and then Brock Nelson for Toronto."

The Maple Leafs are tied with the Panthers for first place in the Atlantic with 79 points, while the Lightning are just three points behind the two teams with a game in hand.