Why didn't your team trade for Rantanen? Tiering NHL teams that could've/should've been in the mix

There was definitely some FOMO going on around the NHL on Friday night.

A blockbuster trade went down a three-way deal headlined by the Colorado Avalanche sending longtime star Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes and a lot of executives around the league were caught off guard.

Rantanen, one of the best forwards in the league and one of the best players ever traded in-season during the NHLs salary-cap era was being moved and they didnt know about it? Advertisement This was a trade made under very unique circumstances, which is part of what limited the number of suitors.

Rantanen is a pending unrestricted free agent.

He has a huge contract ($9.25 million cap hit) and a limited no-trade clause, meaning nine of the NHLs other 30 teams were off the table from the start.

And the Avalanche are still trying to win this season, so they needed a top-line-capable player back in this case, Martin Necas to fill Rantanens void at least to some extent.

Those complications are why, at least in part, there werent many teams in the mix.

According to The Athletic s Pierre LeBrun , It was a very, very small list of teams.

It may have been only one.

But did it have to be that way? Was there a potential fit for Rantanen elsewhere, if more teams decided to get creative? What if the Avs had opened this to a good old-fashioned bidding war? These are the questions being asked by many fan bases in the wake of the trade.

And now I will attempt to answer them, as best I can, by grouping the 30 other teams into tiers regarding the midseason blockbuster that rocked the NHL.

Contenders that arent really a great fit Dallas Stars , Edmonton Oilers , Florida Panthers , Los Angeles Kings , New Jersey Devils , Tampa Bay Lightning In most of these cases, cap space is tight and these teams have a lot of their stars locked in place, especially on the wing.

These teams also, in some cases, have players on their rosters they need to think about signing for next season, like Evan Bouchard with the Oilers.

A skilled 28-year-old winger like Rantanen who wants, potentially, the biggest contract in the league is not an easy fit on any of these rosters not without some serious surgery, which would have been difficult 50-odd games into the season.

I also dont really see these six teams as likely to bid for Rantanen in the offseason, although if the salary cap gets jacked up more than 10 percent to $97 million, perhaps more teams join the bidding war.

Advertisement But thats my read on their situations at the moment.

Other teams that arent a great fit Anaheim Ducks , Boston Bruins , Buffalo Sabres , Detroit Red Wings , Nashville Predators , New York Islanders , Ottawa Senators , Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins , San Jose Sharks , Seattle Kraken , St.

Louis Blues I hate to disappoint 12 fan bases all at once here, but its important to keep in mind that what Rantanen wants here is key.

He holds a lot of power when it comes to whats next.

Several of these teams, to start, are likely to be on his no-trade list.

And even for those that are not, it would have made no sense for them to trade for a star player who has no intention of re-signing there, given the assets they would have to give Colorado to get him.

Many of these teams are tight to the cap , both this season and next.

And they lack the kind of rising star in his prime (like Necas) to send the other way in a deal.

GO DEEPER Ranking every NHL teams salary cap situation, from best to worst Were more than five months from free agency, and things can certainly change, but my prediction here in late January is that these teams dont emerge as front-runners for Rantanen in the summer, either assuming he doesnt sign in Carolina and makes it to free agency.

GO DEEPER Will Mikko Rantanen re-sign with the Hurricanes? Projecting his next contract Better as an offseason signing Calgary Flames , Chicago Blackhawks , Columbus Blue Jackets , Montreal Canadiens , Toronto Maple Leafs , Utah Hockey Club OK, now we get into the fun part of this theoretical exercise.

Who could make a legitimate play for Rantanen, assuming one of the NHLs biggest contracts while offering him a chance to win and/or a desirable location? Calgary, Columbus and Montreal all fit the bill as teams with considerable cap space.

Theyve all had surprisingly strong seasons and may be looking to make a bold move to accelerate their roster retools/rebuilds.

Given they all have a shot at making the playoffs now and have some intriguing young players on the roster, imagine how much adding one of the top wingers in the league could help right away next season? Chicago, meanwhile, Im including because talk persists around the league that the Blackhawks intend to be very aggressive in the offseason.

Despite all of the losing there, its a marquee, Original Six franchise in a great city that is a draw for players to live in.

GO DEEPER Why the Blackhawks could be major players for Mikko Rantanen, others this NHL offseason I wouldnt call it likely, but perhaps Chicago finds a way to significantly outbid everyone else to get something done? (The size of the contract clearly will matter here, given how big of a stumbling block it was with the Avs.) Utah, similarly, is drowning in cap space and has positive buzz around it as a new market with a charismatic owner and some promising young talent.

Again, its probably not a front-runner, but dont be surprised if Utah tries to take some big swings in the offseason.

Advertisement As for the Maple Leafs, no, Im not just including them for the clicks.

With two of the highest-paid players in the league about to become UFAs in Toronto, if either the Mitch Marner or John Tavares situation goes sideways and they dont re-sign there, the Leafs will suddenly have a lot of cap space and a gaping hole up front to fill.

And, as we know, they dont mind going big on cap hits from time to time.

Being a perennial contender in a marquee market and able to offer a slot alongside Auston Matthews are decent draws, too.

GO DEEPER NHL trade deadline tiers: Buyers, sellers and those in between plus each team's biggest need Might have worked as an in-season trade partner? Minnesota Wild , New York Rangers , Vancouver Canucks , Vegas Golden Knights , Washington Capitals , Winnipeg Jets This was, by far, the hardest category to fill, given all of the variables at play.

That said, I went with these six teams as the most likely options for Colorado to deal with, had talks with Carolina broken down last week.

Vancouver and the Rangers are obvious fits, given their struggles on the ice and the in-depth trade talks theyve been having with each other (and other partners).

The Canucks and Hurricanes were deep in conversations around Elias Pettersson , for example, so perhaps there was some sort of pivot trade that could have been worked out there.

Both markets have had recent on-ice success and are typically desirable places for UFAs to go to, so a no-trade clause wouldnt likely be an issue.

Could they afford him under the cap this season? In some cases it mightve taken double-retention, but again, were talking about teams getting as aggressive and creative as Carolina did.

GO DEEPER Eric Tulsky exclusive: Hurricanes GM on pulling off the Mikko Rantanen trade 'You have to be willing to stretch' Minnesota, Washington and Winnipeg have been three of the leagues top teams (currently ranked ninth, first and second in the overall NHL standings) and have solid cap situations beyond this season, to the point that they can accommodate a massive Rantanen contract if they so choose.

They also have enough young talent that they could potentially give up a Necas-like player to Colorado to facilitate a deal, with some maneuvering involved.

Advertisement Could someone like Nikolaj Ehlers , for example, have made sense in a trade like this? Are these the sexiest markets in the league for a UFA to want to sign long-term? Not necessarily.

But few things are a better draw than contending for a championship, and all three franchises look poised to do that both this spring and in the next few years.

And the Golden Knights? Well, they make bat-bleep moves no one thinks they can pull off every year, so they belong here as much as anyone.

GO DEEPER Weekend NHL rankings: The Mikko Rantanen blockbuster shakes up the league That said, the Avalanche are still trying to win this season, and moving Rantanen to a fellow Western Conference contender could make their path more difficult.

So that would be a big leg up for the Rangers and Capitals over the other teams in this group in terms of trying to get an in-season trade done.

Which, again, shows just how few real suitors there likely were for a deal like this.

GO DEEPER NHL trade grades: Hurricanes acquire Mikko Rantanen in stunning blockbuster with Avalanche (Photo of Morgan Rielly and Mikko Rantanen: Claus Andersen / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.