Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal opens up about what he calls the “weirdest stretch of his career”. 

He was talking about the six weeks the Hurricanes spent trying to sign forward Mikko Rantanen before trading him away. Staal shared details about the time on the recent episode of the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, as posted on Instagram on July 18.

"It was the weirdest time, and even for me, I didn't know what to say to him," Staal said.

He explained on the podcast that the team still had to prioritize winning games while there was still drama around them.

Staal is in his 20th NHL season and has spent the last 14 years with Carolina. He has been quite familiar with the team for a while now. Carolina acquired Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 24, 2025. 

The Hurricanes tried to sign the star winger for the long term. Instead, his contract talks stalled, and there was a lot of uncertainty, which stretched on for weeks.

Staal, who sat beside Rantanen, watched him try to adjust to the team while his future was still unclear.  The head coach, Rod Brind'Amour, and his staff struggled to understand if Rantanen would commit to Carolina long-term. 

Staal also sympathized with Rantanen with what he was going through.

"I felt bad for Rantanen too," he said. "He wasn't really expecting to get traded, and obviously, he has his own story."

Staal admits he didn't even know what to say to Rantanen at times. The constant speculation over whether he would sign an extension or be traded again became a distraction for everyone.

As team captain, Staal explained that he felt responsible for managing the room during this period. Once the trade deadline passed and Rantanen's future became clear, however, the team’s priorities had changed by then.

"Once that deadline is done, we can finally just go," Staal said, admitting to being relieved

The Hurricanes settled quickly after that deal as Rantanen was traded to Dallas on March 7, 2025. Staal's leadership evolved as he led the team to a 53-22-7 season in 2025-2026 after a 47-30-5 season without Rantanen.

They continued to go on one of their strongest stretches without Rantanen in the following weeks.

Rantanen’s trade to the Stars

Carolina traded Rantanen to the Dallas Stars on the day of the NHL trade deadline. In his 13 games with the Hurricanes, he scored 6 points, including two goals. The deal is discussed in more detail in an article by the NHL.

In return, Carolina received forward Logan Stankoven and four future draft picks. The draft picks were first-round selections in 2026 and 2028, along with third-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

Dallas quickly signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension. The deal runs till the 2032-33 season and also includes a full no-move clause.

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill labelled the move as a rare opportunity.

"The chance to acquire and extend one of the best forwards in the NHL is an opportunity that we couldn't pass up," Stars general manager Jim Nill said.

Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky explained that if they tried to avoid that risk altogether, they’d miss the chance to make the team better. 

“If you only make moves when you're 100 percent, you know exactly how it's going to work out; you're going to miss some opportunities to make the team better,” he said.

With two goals and an assist in a 4-3 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 4, 2025, Rantanen became the fourth Finland-born player in NHL history to score 300 career goals.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar