Mikko Rantanen's move to Carolina shook up the entire team – a revelation from the captain behind the scenes

Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal describes Mikko Rantanen‘s brief time with the team as one of the most unusual experiences of his career.

The fresh Stanley Cup champion opened up about the topic on the Spittin Chiclets podcast and mentioned that Rantanen’s 13-game stint in Carolina caused a lot of confusion in the team’s locker room.

– It was a totally crazy time. I remember telling the guys afterward that it was really weird. It was of course strange for the fans, but even stranger for us players.

Staal says he understood well the difficult situation the Finn was in.

– I understood the situation, and I felt sorry for him. He hadn’t expected to be traded, but had hoped to sign an extension with Colorado.

According to the captain, Rantanen tried his best, but the game did not go as expected.

– Next to me sat a star player who didn’t know what was happening. He tried to play his best, but the game wasn’t going well and he was frustrated.

Staal admits that the Finn was unable to deliver on the ice what the Hurricanes expected from him.

– He wasn’t really doing the things on the ice that we wanted him to do. On the other hand, he is such a talented player that you just think, this will work out eventually. He can make great plays, so we would figure out the gameplay side. However, we also needed to know if he was going to stay with the team.

The uncertainty was also evident in the interaction between Rantanen and Staal.

– I didn’t really know most of the time what I should say to him. The situation was difficult and strange. To be honest, we were just mediocre while he was here.

According to Staal, the atmosphere in the Hurricanes’ locker room relaxed immediately after Rantanen was traded to the Dallas Stars at the trade deadline.

– We seemed to win ten games in a row right after the trade deadline. We just started to dominate games. We decided to just do what we needed to do. Play the way we wanted and move forward with the players we had.

Finally, the experienced captain summarizes the entire sequence of events in one sentence.

– One of the strangest phases of my entire career.

Rantanen moved to Carolina during the season from the Colorado Avalanche, but the parties could not reach an agreement on a contract extension. Ultimately, the Hurricanes traded the Finnish star to Dallas, where he signed an eight-year deal.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, celebrated winning the Stanley Cup under Staal’s leadership in the season immediately following Rantanen’s departure.