Reaching the postseason is nothing new for the Carolina Hurricanes.
But as a blockbuster trade Friday indicated, the Hurricanes are getting tired of coming up short of the ultimate prize — and they are willing to do just about anything to hoist the Stanley Cup again.
Right winger Mikko Rantanen and left winger Taylor Hall could debut for their new team Saturday night when the Hurricanes visit the New York Islanders in a battle of Metropolitan Division rivals in Elmont, N.Y.
The Hurricanes were off Friday after earning their fourth straight win Thursday by beating the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4.
The Islanders opened a back-to-back home set against divisional foes Friday night by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1.
Of course, the off-day was anything but quiet for the Hurricanes, who combined with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks on a blockbuster that shocked the NHL establishment.
While the Blackhawks are in the midst of a protracted rebuild, Carolina and Colorado are firmly entrenched in playoff position — yet traded from their cores to bolster their rosters for the stretch drive and beyond.
To acquire Rantanen, the Avalanche’s second-leading scorer and former Hart Trophy winner Hall from the Blackhawks, the Hurricanes sent leading scorer Martin Necas, center Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round draft pick and a fourth-round 2026 draft pick to Colorado.
Carolina also dealt its third-round pick in the 2025 draft to Chicago for prospect Nils Juntorp.
“Mikko is one of the premier power forwards in our sport,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said in a news release. “It’s no secret that we’ve wanted to add elite skill to our lineup, and this is a player who should fit our system and locker room well. And Taylor gives us another high-skill option to bolster our attack.”
Rantanen also brings plenty of postseason experience to the Hurricanes, who are on pace to reach the playoffs for the seventh straight season under head coach Rod Brind’Amour but have yet to advance beyond the Eastern Conference finals during that span.
Carolina has one Stanley Cup title, in the 2005-06 season.
Rantanen has 101 points in 81 playoff games, including 25 points in 20 games when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in the spring of 2022. While Necas has 16 goals and 55 points this season, he has just 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 59 playoff games.
The Islanders, who have been eliminated by the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference first round in each of the previous two seasons, made a smaller move earlier Friday to try to bolster their postseason chances by signing defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who must clear waivers after returning from play with SKA Saint Petersburg of Russia’s KHL.
DeAngelo will help bolster the Islanders’ blue line and special-teams units in the absence of defenseman Noah Dobson (lower body) and Mike Reilly (heart condition), both of whom are out indefinitely.
New York, which is six points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, are last in the NHL in power-play goals.
“He’s so good with the puck — his decisions with the puck on the power play, he’s a threat up there,” Islanders center Bo Horvat, who scored the game-winner late in the first period Friday, said of DeAngelo.
–Field Level Media
