It was seen as a massive failure when the Carolina Hurricanes had to trade Mikko Rantanen after just 13 games.
Rantanen was originally acquired from the Colorado Avalanche for a package centered around Martin Nečas, but was unhappy with his situation in Carolina and requested out.
The Hurricanes had to flip Rantanen and received Logan Stankoven, a conditional 2026 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, and a 2027 third-round pick from the Dallas Stars
Now, that trade is already paying dividends as Carolina has locked in Stankoven to an eight-year, $48 million extension, according to multiple sources.
Stankoven, 22, fits the Hurricanes’ rapid, controlled chaos structure and provides them with center and right wing flexibility in the top nine.
He recorded 5 goals and 9 points over 19 regular season games for Carolina and notched 5 goals and 8 points over 15 playoff games. Those are respectable numbers given his new price tag, but his game is not limited to scoring.
Stankoven skates well, forechecks hard, and is not a possession-obsessed player like Rantanen, which was part of the reason his experiment did not work out for either party.
The Hurricanes have historically struggled to attract top free agents, and while this extension is a bit different, it is still encouraging that a young, rising force like Stankoven wanted to stay with his new franchise.
Carolina still has over $26.7 million in cap space to play with and should look to bolster its roster with more scorers and shooters up front and, ideally, a top-four pairing, right-handed defenseman.
For now, they can celebrate the Stankoven contract.
