Mikko Rantanen is the game breaker the Hurricanes needed

The Carolina Hurricanes knew if they wanted to go deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they needed another game breaker among the top-six of the lineup. GM Eric Tulsky has found one in spades.

Tulsky pulled off a blockbuster three-way trade last weekend to acquire Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche, and immediately, bolsters the Hurricanes scoring prowess. Rantanen joins Carolina after dressing in 49 games for the Avs this season, tallying 25 goals, and 64 points. He was held off the scoresheet in his Hurricanes’ debut last weekend, after spending parts of 10 seasons with the Avalanche franchise.

The Hurricanes are hopeful Rantanen is exactly what the doctor ordered for their lineup, especially in the playoffs. Since 2020, Carolina ranks seventh in the NHL, averaging just 2.98 goals per game in the postseason.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed the new-look Hurricanes, and how exactly Rantanen will fit into their lineup:

Yaremchuk: Back to back deadlines where this Hurricanes’ front office goes and gets a massive fish. They land a piece in Mikko Rantanen. And, they don’t give up one of their top-four prospects again, and they don’t give up a first-round pick again. It’s incredible work.

Seravalli: It’s crazy. To think again, the player of that magnitude moved, and to not trade a first-round pick, like, they’ve yet to sacrifice any part, even 1%, of their future.

Think about the biggest thing we’ve said about the Carolina Hurricanes over the last five years. Really good team, that doesn’t have a true game breaker, or a game changer. Mikko Rantanen is that. He’s, aside from being one of the best players in the league, he’s one of the best playoff performers of his generation.

He’s a Cup winner, he’s humongous, he does everything that you’d want in terms of being a fit. I think he’s going to mesh perfectly with what head coach Rod Brind’Amour is looking for. The play that he has on the walls, in terms of creating pressure. Even stylistically, he’s a pure fit for Carolina, and what they’re looking for.

For more on Rantanen’s new home, and all the very latest from around the NHL, watch the full episode below.