Rantanen and Hall were traded to the Hurricanes in a three-way deal with the Avalanche and Blackhawks

The Carolina Hurricanes acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in a three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

Colorado received forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from Carolina, which acquired the prospect forward from the Blackhawks Nils Juntorp.

Chicago acquired a third-round pick in the 2025 draft from Carolina. The Blackhawks will also keep 50 percent of Rantanen’s $9.25 million salary.

Rantanen has played 619 games of his NHL career with the Avalanche and has 681 points (287 goals, 394 assists). Selected 10th overall by Colorado in the 2015 NHL Draft, Rantanen helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

He is in the final year of a six-year, $55.5 million contract he signed with Colorado on Sept. 28, 2019, and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. The 28-year-old has 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games this season, which ranks him second on Colorado behind center Nathan MacKinnon (75 points).

Rantanen has 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 Stanley Cup playoff games, including 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) during the Cup run. He will represent Finland in the next 4 Nations confrontation.

“Mikko is one of the best power forwards in our sport,” said Hurricanes forward Eric Tulsky. “It’s no secret that we wanted to add some elite skills to our roster, and this is a player that should fit well in our system and locker room. And Taylor gives us another highly skilled option to bolster our offense.

Hall is in the final season of a four-year contract worth $24 million (average annual value $6 million) he signed with the Boston Bruins on July 23, 2021, and can also become unrestricted free agent after this season.

Winner of the Hart Trophy awarded to the NHL’s most valuable player in 2017-2018 with the New Jersey Devils, Hall has 721 points (275 goals, 446 assists) in 878 games in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, the Devils , Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and Blackhawks. . The 33-year-old was ruled out of the Blackhawks’ game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.

Hall, the Oilers’ number one pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, has 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) in 39 playoff games.

Necas is in his sixth full season with Carolina and has 55 points (16 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games. The 26-year-old had an NHL career-high 71 points (28 goals, 43 assists) in 2022-23 and has 298 points (113 goals, 185 assists) in 411 games.

Carolina’s No. 12 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Necas signed a two-year, $13 million contract ($6.5 million AAV) on July 29 to avoid a salary arbitration hearing and could have become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

Drury is in his third full NHL season with Carolina and has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 39 games after recording 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 74 games last season. The 24-year-old, who was selected by Carolina in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft, has 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) in 153 NHL games, and eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 24 playoff games.

He signed a two-year, $3.45 million ($1.725 million AAV) contract with Carolina on July 17.

The Hurricanes (30-16-3) entered Friday second in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the NHL with an average of 3.37 goals per game.

They have made the playoffs six straight seasons, but have failed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019 and 2023.

They will play the New York Islanders on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSGSN) and it is unclear if Rantanen or Hall will be in the lineup.

Before the season, Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland said he was not worried about re-signing Rantanen to a new contract.

“Don’t worry about the start of the season; these are not easy deals to make,” MacFarland said on October 8. “The player obviously has the right to leave for UFA, and the club must make intelligent decisions, both in the short term and in the long term.”

The Avalanche (28-19-2) entered the Western Conference’s first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Friday. They play the Boston Bruins on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, NESN, ALT, SN, TVAS).

Hall, who last played in the playoffs for Boston in 2022-23 when he had eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven games, said earlier this month that the possibility of returning to the playoffs would be a welcome opportunity.

“There’s always a positive and there’s always a positive to move forward. Everyone in a contract year knows that things can go different ways,” he said. “I’m up for anything. I have a wonderful wife who’s always up for a good adventure, and whether it’s here or somewhere else, we’ll figure it out.”

The Blackhawks acquired Hall and now captain Nick Foligno from the Bruins on June 26, 2023, to serve as a mentor and potential partner to Connor Bedard, Chicago’s No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Hall missed most of last season after undergoing right knee surgery in November 2023 and played on the lines before this season.

Chicago entered its game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday with a 15-28-4 record, tied for last in the Western Conference.