Deen’s Daily: Rantanen Could Move Again; Team Canada Plays Wednesday

Rantanen’s future with Carolina is still up in the air. Also, as four Avalanche representatives prepare for the 4 Nations Faceoff, a handful of potential trade targets around the league are prepping for potential trades during the tournament.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — February 11.

Colorado Hockey Now

Rantanen is no longer part of the Colorado Avalanche, but he’s still headlining a lot of trade boards.

I wrote in my weekly Monday Notebook about the possibility that he gets dealt again. Since then, both Elliotte Friedman and Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet have mentioned his name once more as a potential trade target if Carolina can’t get a deal signed before March 7. As I said in my weekly column, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and right now, Rantanen’s name is popping up all over the place.

The 4 Nations tournament will be a good opportunity for him to settle in and get his game back to where it needs to be. If he can do that and then start scoring with Carolina, perhaps he’ll feel more comfortable and entertain a contract extension with the Canes. Rantanen had four assists in his last six games with Colorado before the slow start in Carolina. That means he’s got just one goal and six points in his last 12 games heading into the break. Not good enough for his standards.

Speaking of the 4 Nations Faceoff, here’s how the Avalanche representatives lined up during Monday’s opening day of practice.

Check out the latest episode of my podcast, Rinskide with Aarif Deen — Back to Back Wins in Alberta | February 10, 2025.

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: More on the return of Sidney Crosby, who hasn’t played for Pittsburgh since suffering an injury a week ago today.

Montreal Hockey Now: Jake Evans is one player who wouldn’t be surprised if he’s traded before NHL action resumes in two weeks.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils are a team targeting Jake Evans to serve as their third-line center. The asking price for Evans was revealed, courtesy of Pierre LeBrun.

NYI Hockey Now: Several teams await the fate of Brock Nelson, who is reportedly still interested in re-signing with the Islanders.

Florida Hockey Now: If you thought four representatives at 4 Nations was a lot, wait until you see how many the reigning Stanley Cup champions have.