The NHL trade deadline is just a few hours away, and Stanley Cup contenders are starting to load up for deep postseason runs. The Dallas Stars, already one of the favorites to win it all, just swung a massive deal to acquire Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Rantanen played just 13 games for the Hurricanes after being traded by the Avalanche earlier this year. In that time, he scored just two goals, but Rantanen has proven to be an elite finisher throughout his career. He tallied 55 goals in 2022-23, and Rantanen has broken the 30-goal mark in each of the previous for seasons.
The Hurricanes get a promising young center in Logan Stankoven and prime draft capital they can use to make another move if they want to reload for their own Cup run after dealing Rantanen.
The West is officially an arms race with the Stars getting Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche by acquiring center Brock Nelson. The talented center provides a strong upgrade up the middle behind Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado after Casey Mittelstadt has had an up-and-down tenure since being acquired at the 2024 trade deadline.
In the East, the Tampa Bay Lightning also made their move by reuniting with shutdown forward Yanni Gourde, as well as acquiring Oliver Bjorkstrand in a trade with the Seattle Kraken. The Bolts’ in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers, bolstered their blue line by getting Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Keep track of all the NHL trade deadline action right here as we provide updates on every deal.
Stars land Mikko Rantanen in mammoth deal with Hurricanes
After negotiations that kicked into overdrive in the wee hours of Friday morning, Mikko Rantanen is finally a Star, and he’ll remain one for a while. Not only did Dallas land the top forward on the market, but it also signed Rantanen to an eight-year contract extension. Rantanen now joins a forward group that was already one of the deepest and most talented in the league.
Penguins send D Luke Schenn to Jets for draft picks
Kings add scoring winger Andrei Kuzmenko from Flyers
Sabres send Dylan Cozens to Senators for Josh Norris
The Sabres and Senators are engaging in a swap of a pair of very talented forwards. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Sabres are trading center Dylan Cozens, defenseman Dennis Gilbert, and a 2026 second-round pick to the Senators in exchange for center Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker.
Cozens is a candidate that may just need a change of scenery to right the ship. After all, Cozens is just two years removed from tallying 68 points (31 points & 37 assists), but has just 11 goals this season. Meanwhile, Norris is an impressive two-way forward that provides some toughness to the Sabres lineup. However, Norris has had three shoulder surgeries at just 25 years old, so it’s a high-risk, high-reward type of acquisition.
Capitals add Anthony Beauvillier
The Capitals are improving their forward depth with the acquisition of the veteran winger from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Capitals are sending a 2025 second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for Beauvillier.
In Beauvillier, the Capitals get some bottom-six depth in a player that provides some goal-scoring punch. Beauvillier has recorded 20 points (13 goals & seven assists) in 63 games with Pittsburgh.
Avalanche make splash by landing Brock Nelson
The Avalanche made a bold move when they landed forward Brock Nelson in a trade with the Islanders. In exchange for Nelson and forward William Dufour, the Avalanche traded defenseman Oliver Kylington, forward Calum Ritchie, a first-round pick in 2026 or 2027, and a conditional 2028 third-round pick. Kylington ended up being flipped to the Ducks for future considerations in a separate deals.
Colorado was aiming to upgrade the center position on the second line after Casey Mittelstadt has struggled at times since being acquired in 2024. Nelson is a talented playmaker that should see his offensive numbers rise playing with the Avalanche, and could be an asset on the power-play unit.
Devils add Bryan Dumoulin in trade with Ducks
The Devils may have lost Jack Hughes to season-ending shoulder surgery, but that isn’t stopping them from being active at the trade deadline. They are improving their blue line by acquiring defenseman Bryan Dumoulin in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick and winger Herman Traff.
The Ducks are retaining 50% of Dumoulin’s $3.15 million cap hit. The veteran blue-liner was traded to the Ducks by the Kraken this past summer, and has tallied 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) this season.
Kraken sent Gourde, Bjorkstrand to Lightning
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois knows his window to win is open right now, so he was willing to ship off valuable future assets to land Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Gourde is an excellent defensive forward, and Bjorkstrand can provide some offense in a middle-six role.
Tampa’s forward group looks quite formidable now, but Seattle made out of this deal quite well too. Landing a pair of first-round picks, a second-round pick and a young depth piece like Michael Eyssimont is good work.
Panthers land backup goaltender by acquiring Vitek Vanecek
Panthers land Seth Jones from Blackhawks for Spencer Knight, first-round pick
The Panthers improved their blue line by acquiring defenseman Seth Jones and a 2026 fourth-round pick from the Blackhawks in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and a 2026 conditional first-round pick. As a stipulation of the deal, the Blackhawks are retaining a portion of Jones’ salary. Meanwhile, the first-round pick moves to 2027 if the Panthers trade their 2026 first-round pick prior to the 2025 NHL Draft.
Jones is embarking on his 12th NHL season season after playing for the Blue Jackets and Predators prior to being traded to the Blackhawks in 2021. The veteran defenseman has tallied 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in 42 games this season. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks may have gotten their goaltender of the future in Knight, who is still just 23 years old.
Preds trade Gus Nyquist to Wild for second-round pick
With Kirill Kaprizov out of the lineup, offense has been harder to come by for the Minnesota Wild, so GM Bill Guerin acquired veteran winger Gus Nyquist from the Nashville Predators. Minnesota sent Nashville a 2026 second-round pick while the Preds are retaining 50% of Nyquist’s $3.185 million cap hit.
Nyquist has had trouble producing this season, but he just tallied a career-high 75 points in 2023-24.
Avs acquire Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey from Rangers
The Avalanche needed some defensive depth, and they got it in the form of veteran Ryan Lindgren. A reliable defensive defenseman for most of his career, Lindgren hasn’t been as effective this season as injuries have taken their toll. Colorado also added winger Jimmy Vesey, who will play a fourth-line role.
In exchange, the Rangers will get two replacement depth pieces, Juuso Parssinen and Calvin de Haan. They also receive second- and fouth-round picks in 2025.
Canucks add Pettersson, O’Connor from Penguins
Sharks send Granlund, Ceci to Sharks
The Stars are one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, and those odds should only improve with Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci in the fold. Granlund, 32, is having a resurgent season in San Jose. He has 15 goals and 30 assists in 52 games. That has him on pace for 70 points, which would be a career year. With Tyler Seguin on LTIR, that freed up the cap space for the Stars to acquire Granlund and Ceci.
Granlund should slot right into the Stars’ middle-six, perhaps on a line with former Nashville Predators teammate Matt Duchene, and Ceci provides a veteran presence. In return, Dallas sent a 2025 first-round pick and a conditional 2025 third-round pick to the Sharks.
Rangers acquire JT Miller from Canucks
The JT Miller soap opera in Vancouver has finally reached its end. The Canucks sent Miller, along with defenseman Erik Brannstrom and prospect Jack Dorrington, to the New York Rangers. Forward Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a conditional first-round pick went back to Vancouver.
Miller was a 100-point player just last season, and the Rangers have been missing some dynamic playmaking at the top of their lineup this year. Miller can bring that, but the big question is whether his disappointing start in 2024-25 was due to the drama between himself and Elias Pettersson. Either way, New York did get notably better with this deal.
The Canucks were able to free up a few million dollars in salary cap space while acquiring Chytil, who will bring some speed and skill in a depth forward role.
The NHL trade deadline for the 2024-2025 season has come and gone, and the Dallas Stars made a big splash by acquiring star forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche. The trade was finalized just before the deadline, with the Stars sending a package of draft picks and prospects to the Avalanche in exchange for the talented Finnish winger.
Rantanen, who is just 27 years old, has established himself as one of the top forwards in the league over the past few seasons. In the 2023-2024 season, he recorded 85 points in 68 games, showcasing his scoring touch and playmaking ability. The Stars were in need of a dynamic offensive player to bolster their lineup, and Rantanen fits the bill perfectly.
In addition to acquiring Rantanen, the Stars wasted no time in locking him up long-term, signing him to a massive $96 million contract extension that will keep him in Dallas for the foreseeable future. The contract is set to kick in at the start of the 2025-2026 season and will see Rantanen earn an average annual value of $12 million per year.
This move signals a clear commitment from the Stars’ front office to build a competitive team around their core group of players, which includes Rantanen, captain Jamie Benn, and young defenseman Miro Heiskanen. With Rantanen now in the fold, the Stars have added another elite talent to their roster and should be considered serious contenders in the Western Conference.
The Avalanche, on the other hand, decided to part ways with Rantanen in order to free up cap space and acquire assets for the future. While losing a player of Rantanen’s caliber is never easy, the Avalanche received a solid return in the trade and will look to continue their success with their remaining core players.
Overall, the trade deadline was an exciting time for NHL fans, with several big-name players changing teams and setting the stage for an exciting finish to the season. The addition of Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars is sure to make waves in the league and could be a game-changer for the team as they push for a deep playoff run.
