Insider Trading: Rantanen trade watch heating up; Devils look to add after Hughes' surgery
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The TSN Hockey Insiders join James Duthie with the latest on Mikko Rantanen and the possibility of the Hurricanes moving him before the deadline. They also touch on Jack Hughes' season ending surgery, the Lightning loading up for another Cup run and more.
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James Duthie: Alright, thank you, once again with the full triumvirate of Insiders, Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger.
Perhaps the most intriguing, at least story, at the deadline and he could well be the best player to get traded…again, if he gets traded before the deadline, is Mikko Rantanen. Carolina makes the big early splash, goes out and gets him, having some issues signing him. So, what are the real chances that he moves again before Friday at 3pm ET?
Chris Johnston: Well, we can't say with 100% 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.
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.
Duthie: These last two days are supposed to be about contenders making big additions, but it's a devastating subtraction that is the story of this day, as New Jersey loses Jack Hughes, shoulder surgery, gone for the year.
How massive a blow is that, especially right before the deadline?
Darren Dreger: Well then on top of that, you've got Dougie Hamilton, who's sidelined with a lower body injury. Now, that's a week-to-week thing. Probably on the outside three weeks, but it's still a significant loss. You don't replace Jack Hughes, that's pretty obvious, but it sure sounds like general manager Tom Fitzgerald is going to try his very best to bring in something, some help, some adds so that the playoffs season isn't lost to the New Jersey Devils. It can never be about one guy, even though this is very, very devastating.
As Pierre talked about on Tuesday, I think that given the history of Tom Fitzgerald, you have to prepare for almost anything, including kicking tires on Mikko Rantanen. I honestly, I think the New Jersey Devils are going to try and be as active as they can be.
Duthie: Tampa always seems to find a way at the deadline, whether they're in cap situations, whether they're not. Yanni Gourde, they get back with his two rings. Oliver Bjorkstrand comes along from Seattle. How does Julien BriseBois seem to fill his needs almost every single year?
Pierre LeBrun: I think it was Cliff Fletcher who famously once said “Draft, Schmaft”, and I think Julien BriseBois is the 2025 version of Cliff Fletcher. Let me run this down here, between Goodrow, Coleman, Hagel, Jeannot and today's trade for Gourde and Bjorkstrand, Julien BriseBois has traded away seven first-round picks in all those deals. You know what else he's done? He's won two Stanley Cups, he's gone to another Stanley Cup final and he's trying to get to another one right now. I traded messages with him after the trade and he gave me a very long answer with a lot of reasoning for why he's willing to do this time and time and again, but the end of it really hit home for me. ‘The calculation is that trying and failing will yield less regret than failing to try.’ They want to win, they're willing to empty the cupboard of draft picks.
Duthie: It's a little wordy for a T-shirt or a bumper sticker, but I do like it. Quickly, give me one team that's at least intriguing to you, or might be sneaky busy on the deadline.
Johnston: Boston Bruins, for me. I was told on this day lots going on, they’re a team looking at selling, of course. They've already traded Trent Frederic to Edmonton, I think Brandon Carlo's name is increasingly out there as a possibility for them to move, few other UFAs. So, I look to them for an active team.
LeBrun: LA Kings, they may face Edmonton Oilers for a fourth straight year in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, they want to finally beat them. They need another difference maker to do that, in my opinion. They actually talked about Rantanen earlier this year, they're going to try and get some offence.
Dreger: I'm going to go with Pittsburgh and Rickard Rakell. He's been one of the jewels on the Trade Bait list pretty much since we brought it into play several weeks ago. I'm not convinced that he's going to be traded, it's going to take an offer. Somebody's going to have to step up large, because the interest in the offseason might be equally significant, the cap is going up. Three more years with Rakell at $5 million per, maybe you're better to just wait.
Duthie: You guys are giving me hope though. Although Morgan Freeman said in Shawshank, ‘hope is a dangerous thing, hope can drive a man insane,’ which will likely happen on Friday on TradeCentre, which begins at 8am ET.
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Duthie: Luke Schenn, a really good depth defenceman that a lot of contenders would covet, goes to Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Pittsburgh is not really considered a contender at this point, so is this a get him to flip him or what is it?
Johnston: 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. 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.