Insider Reveals How the Toronto Maple Leafs Whiffed on Mikko Rantanen Trade
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The Toronto Maple Leafs tried to trade for Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline but it ultimately didn't work out and the Dallas Stars acquired him instead.
Brad Treliving had the Toronto Maple Leafs in position to acquire Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes for Mitch Marner.
However, Marner ultimately did not want to be part of a trade and refused to waive his no-movement clause, which should not come as a surprise to anyone.
The Maple Leafs then tried to pivot by offering Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, but the Hurricanes did not want to do that deal.
Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars
On the latest episode of Leafs Morning Take, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period offered up some interesting information on the botched deal.
Firstly, he revealed that Rantanen wanted to sign with either the Maple Leafs, the Edmonton Oilers, the Dallas Stars, or the Florida Panthers.
"So there was a 4-team preferred list... and my understanding is obviously Dallas, Florida, Toronto, and Edmonton. Those were the 4-team preferred list and I can confirm with a million percent certainty that he was willing to sign in Toronto and he was willing to sign in Edmonton."
Subsequently, the Hurricanes were looking for Matthew Knies once it was revealed that Marner was no longer an option.
The Maple Leafs refused to make this a possibility and in the end, the trade never went through.
"After the Marner situation was cleared, Carolina wanted Matthew Knies in a package and every sense I got was that Toronto didn't want to do that. So they shifted to the 2 prospects, the 2 firsts, and I believe there was something else in there but they liked Dallas' offer, they wanted a proven guy at the NHL-level in Logan Stankoven and they went with that one."
This is going to go down as an all-time what could have been moment in Leafs history.
Now, the team can only hope that Mitch Marner signs in the offseason.
| POLL | ||
MARS 12 | 186 ANSWERS Insider Reveals How the Toronto Maple Leafs Whiffed on Mikko Rantanen Trade Are you sad that the Toronto Maple Leafs missed out on Mikko Rantanen? | ||
| YES | 72 | 38.7 % |
| NO | 114 | 61.3 % |
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