Early Trading: What is the Hurricanes' plan for Rantanen?

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun joins Gino Reda to discuss where things stand between the Hurricanes and Mikko Rantanen, and why all signs are pointing to the Canadiens dealing Jake Evans ahead of the trade deadline.

What is the Hurricanes' plan for Rantanen?

GINO REDA: What’s going on with Mikko Rantanen? Just one goal in his first seven games since the Canes acquired him from the Avs, and, quite frankly, he hasn’t looked anything like the Rantanen we saw while he was wearing an Avs jersey.

To speak to that, here’s Pierre LeBrun.

Pierre, when the Canes made the deal, clearly they wanted to sign him to an eight-year extension. Is that still the plan, or what is the plan now?

PIERRE LeBRUN: Yeah Gino, that is absolutely still the plan.

Let’s back up for a moment, I think part of the unusual layer to all of this is that Mikko Rantanen gets to Carolina after a trade that completely blindsided him, he did not see that coming, and then plays a few games, and then there’s a 4 Nations break where he goes and plays for Finland.

So, it’s not been a sort of a normal adjustment period for a player getting to know his new teammates, I will say that. But in the interim, here’s what I can tell you has happened.

The Hurricanes, during the 4 Nations, had a Zoom call with Rantanen and his agent, Andy Scott of Octagon, where I’m told they really made their strongest pitch yet. A real detailed pitch about what they’re willing to pay him, about their vision for the team, how he fits in, and all of that jazz.

And what has transpired since, is that Mikko Rantanen needs time to mull things over, and not just about the contract itself. As it was explained to me in the last 24 hours, it’s kind of like two phases, Gino.

Phase one is what does Mikko Rantanen ultimately think about Carolina as an organization, as a team, and as a place to live long term. Phase two is “Okay, let’s talk contract.”

I’m told he’s still in phase one. He’s still trying to figure out and get his bearings on if this is where he wants to stay. By the way, the answer to phase one may absolutely be yes, but I’m told he’s not there yet. He just needs more time.

Whether or not he gets through phase one or phase two before March 7, the trade deadline, Gino, is to be determined. And that’s what has fuelled a lot of speculation over the past five, six days.

What will Carolina do if Rantanen is not signed to an extension? I can say this: some people have put the speculation ahead of where things are. I have no evidence that Carolina has actually reached out to a single team to say, “Are you interested in Mikko Rantanen?”

There are teams, for sure, that have phoned to say “Hey, if this guy ends up not signing, let us know if you decide to do something.” Some of that has happened.

But as of today, Gino, the plan from Carolina’s perspective, as far as I can tell, is absolutely to be patient, try and sign him, and to keep him.

And by the way, they may very well keep him as a rental, given that the Eastern Conference is so wide open. I mean, what if they win a Cup with him and he walks? Who cares, right? It will have been worth it.

But the fly in the ointment, as you can imagine, is that they have an owner in Carolina in Tom Dundon who, you know, is a wild card in all of this. If he gets frustrated that he hasn’t been able to sign Rantanen by March 7, who knows what he may or may not instruct his front office to do. 

That’s why that speculation is out there. But right now, the plan for Carolina is to still try and sign him.

REDA; And that’s what makes it a really interesting debate, because that frustration sometimes leads for some dramatic moves.

Canadiens shopping Evans after stalled contract talks?

Alright, on a vastly different level, the Habs are also trying to make a decision on the future of their own pending unrestricted free agent, Jake Evans.

This has been a long, drawn-out process, Pierre. Where are we on that front?

LeBRUN: Yeah, I checked on it today and what I was told is that it’s status quo, which is to say that, following up on what I reported on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 9, both sides remain far apart.

Neither side has moved. There has not been any progress since then. So, they are exactly where they were a couple weeks ago just before the 4 Nations break, which, again, just leads to more speculation that the Habs will end up moving Jake Evans, who is a pending UFA, before the March 7 trade deadline.

As I always like to say, as Bob McKenzie taught us, it just takes one phone call to change either side in that contract stance. But as of right now, all signs point towards a trade.

I know that the Habs have talked to teams here these last few days on that front.

Where it gets interesting to me, because the Habs have a lot of draft picks from the last few years as you know, Gino. So, I don’t think they’re interested in getting a third-round pick or a fourth-round pick for Jake Evans.

That doesn’t move the needle for them. They might as well just keep him and try and stay in a playoff race, which they’re on the outside of right now. The odds are very long that they can make it back.

Teams have been told don’t waste their time. He makes $1.7 million on the cap, which is really attractive to contenders who don’t have a lot of cap space. I think the low bar, the threshold, is a second-round pick at worst for Montreal on a Jake Evans deal. So, teams have to step up. 

Here’s the other thing, and I’ll give credit to Arpon Basu, my colleague at the Athletic who also works the TSN Habs broadcast for us at intermission. He came up with this and I think it’s absolutely legitimate. 

Could the Habs package Joel Armia and Jake Evans, the two penalty-killing buddies who are both pending UFAs? Could they package the other to augment their trade return? 

That is something that I believe the Habs have given some thought to, and so, let’s keep an eye on that because that could be something different if both guys get dealt in the same deal. 

So, food for thought, but as it stands right now, it doesn’t look like Jake Evans will finish the year in Montreal.

REDA: There’s a lot going on below the surface. An early look at trade talk on the day.

The full version of Insider Trading with Pierre, CJ, and Dregs is coming up on the early edition of SportsCentre.