Mikko Rantanen Officially Traded After Finalizing Epic Contract Extension

Over the last few days, the Carolina Hurricanes have been shopping Mikko Rantanen under the assumption that he wouldn't sign a contract extension with the franchise.

The team didn't want to lose the superstar forward for nothing and despite already making a trade with the Colorado Avalanche weeks ago, it was becoming clear that they needed to cut their losses.

Earlier this morning, we reported that Mikko Rantanen was about to be traded to the Dallas Stars in a blockbuster move.

However, the trade was all contingent on the winger signing a contract extension in Dallas. Contract talks eventually fell apart and the trade seemed to be dead in the water.

In the last hour or so, those trade talks have resumed as the Stars were persistent in their negotiations with Rantanen and his agents.

Well, according to reports from the likes of Elliotte Friedman and Darren Dreger, the superstar forward has agreed to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension with the Stars. This is an AAV of $12 million per year.

As a result of this signing, Rantanen is now officially off to Dallas where he will be able to compete for a Stanley Cup.

He will also get a chance to potentially play the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference playoffs which would be pretty interesting to see.

Overall, Mikko Rantanen is one of the league's top wingers and he has 27 goals and 70 points so far this season which will inject the Stars with a ton of offense.

Ultimately, this is a bad look for the Carolina Hurricanes who once again are unable to secure a highly-touted free agent who they traded for.

Either way, you cannot say this trade deadline lacked blockbuster action.