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Insider Who Broke Rantanen Trade Says Contender Kicked Tires on Leafs' Mitch Marner


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Dean Chaudhry
January 27, 2025  (6:28 PM)
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Mitch Marner was reportedly being pursued by Eastern Conference contender before Rantanen trade
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, who broke the Mikko Rantanen trade, the Hurricanes inquired on the status of Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner.

It was the first blockbuster trade of the season, and with the trade deadline fast approaching, it was certainly a precursor to the expected fireworks heading towards the March 7th deadline.
We had heard for weeks that the Hurricanes were in talks with Vancouver over their 2 budding stars in J.T. MIller and Elias Petterson and they reportedly had trades in place for both players. Unfortunately the Canucks weren't interested in the offer as presented, so the Hurricanes pivoted towards Rantanen.
The Hurricanes apparently didn't just stop there, as Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli mentioned on Monday. In fact, they are believed to have reached out to the Toronto Maple Leafs and engaged in discussions over Mitch Marner.
"I believe that the Carolina Hurricanes at least inquired about Mitch Marner as they were going through this process with Mikko Rantanen. I don't know how far they got, I don't know if it's a possibility that maybe they were not a team that Marner would go to. Look, they were in on Pettersson, Miller, Rantanen, I'd be very surprised if they did not at least inquire, or even more strongly than that, with the Toronto Maple Leafs about Mitch Marner."
Marner is playing on an expiring contract with the Maple Leafs, similarly to Rantanen's situation in Colorado. It seems like that's the play Carolina was interested in, as they had done the same thing last year when they acquired the expiring contract of Jake Guentzel ahead of the deadline.
While things aren't necessarily set in stone with what the Maple Leafs are going to do with Marner and his upcoming UFA status, it seems like, for the time being, he will remain in Toronto as they look to make a deep playoff push of their own.
Seravalli mentions that talks didn't progress too far but if you're interested in what Carolina would have offered, look no further to what they exchanged for Rantanen's services: forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury went to Colorado as well as second and fourth round picks.
The return was a little underwhelming considering how Rantanen has performed in the last 2-3 seasons, as well as his playoff stats, but the Avalanche seemed convinced they weren't able to extend him to a long-term extension and didn't want to chance losing him for nothing.
Marner's name has come up a number of times this season, but in terms of his on-ice performance, the 27-year-old is currently on pace for a career-year. He has collected 53 assists and 68 points in just 50 games which is good for 2nd and 4th, respectively, within in the NHL, and he is projected to finish with 111 points.
If the Maple Leafs ever do look into making a blockbuster trade of their own, they can use the Rantanen deal as their blueprint moving forward.
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Insider Who Broke Rantanen Trade Says Contender Kicked Tires on Leafs' Mitch Marner

If the same trade was on the table for Mitch Marner, would you have taken it?

Yes, cost effective forwards are a must84436.8 %
No, Marner's worth more than that145163.2 %
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