Hurricanes HC Rod Brind'Amour clears the air on Mikko Rantanen's drama in Carolina: 'He did us a favor'

Mikko Rantanen is finally enjoying some peace after a rollercoaster 2024–25 NHL season. The former Colorado Avalanche forward was part of the year’s biggest trade, landing with Rod Brind’Amour’s Carolina Hurricanes—though his stay in Raleigh was short-lived. It wasn’t long before he was flipped back to the Western Conference to join the Dallas Stars. Now, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour has set the record straight on Rantanen’s whirlwind tenure in Carolina.

In the span of six months, Rantanen was put through the wringer in the NHL, jumping from drama-filled adventures to the next one with no time to catch his breath. Ultimately, Rantanen and the Stars fell in the Western Conference Final in five games, but this past season was surely one ‘The Moose’ won’t ever forger, for better or for worse.

Just like Dallas, Brind’Amour and Carolina lost at the gates of the Stanley Cup Final in five games, as well. It seemed Rantanen was destined to lose in that round in as many outings, as his two teams after being traded from Colorado ran into the same fate.

A lot has been said about Rantanen and his express stay in North Carolina, but Coach Brind’Amour has taken the time to finally set the record straight on the chaotic events of this past NHL season, sending a powerful message to Rantanen.

Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes speaks with the media following the series win over the Washington Capitals in Game Five of the Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on May 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Setting the record straight

“Let’s clear the air on that. [Rantanen] didn’t ever actually say [‘I don’t want to be here anymore’] to me,” Brind’Amour explained about Rantanen’s dramatic saga in Raleigh, via Ovies & Giglo podcast. “I just knew what he was thinking, he never actually told me.

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“There’s a bigger backstory, but point of the whole thing is: Mikko did us a favor. It wasn’t that he didn’t like us. Everything just got poured on to him, he needed to take a break, and I get it. He made a decision and he actually helped us.”

Worked out for the best

While fans will be quick to point at the Hurricanes and Stars both falling short of their end-goal, both franchises got what they were after. Dallas signed their superstar to a long-term contract, though they are now in a bit of a pickle salary cap-wise because of Rantanen’s ludicrous earnings.

Mikko Rantanen #96 of the Carolina Hurricanes arrives for his first game with the team against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on January 25, 2025 in Elmont, New York.

Carolina, on the other hand, got Logan Stankoven in return, acquiring a young star, whose game continues to grow, and could be a key piece to the roster’s core. Hopefully for fans in Raleigh, he can guide them to the second Stanley Cup in franchise history.

“Give management credit, they pivot and we pull off a deal. At least we get a player that we kind of knew we thought we might like, it turns out we really like him,” Brind’Amour said about Stankoven. “So I think that salvaged that whole thing.”