Betrayal in Carolina with less than 48 hours until the deadline!

With less than two days ahead of the trade deadline, everyone is wondering what is going to happen with Mikko Rantanen in Carolina. The Hurricanes reportedly offered the star forward a lucrative contract offer during the 4 Nations Face-Off, exceeding the $100 million mark, but were told he needed some time to ponder it.

Now with the deadline nearing, the Canes could choose to trade Rantanen, despite acquiring him just weeks ago for a hefty price, instead of losing him for nothing as free agent this summer, almost like they lost Jake Guentzel last summer.

However, Emily Kaplan of ESPN believes there could be a different approach this time in Raleigh. On Wednesday, she’s reported that Rantanen hasn’t told Carolina no, which could be enough for the Hurricanes to abort the trade plan in motion.

According to Kaplan, a new plan would be to hold on to Rantanen despite the risk.

“If it’s still up in the air, my gut says the Canes keep Rantanen and bet that he’ll help them get over the playoff hump and ultimately decide Carolina is where he wants to play.”

This has to be a tough call for the Hurricanes, because Rantanen isn't really helping with his vague answer and constant doubt. How can he do this? At the end of January, Carolina sent forwards Marin Necas and Jack Drury along with a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Rantanen. And for what? Nothing if he ends up walking away and not telling the Canes he wanted out from the start? 

TSN’s Darren Dreger posted on Wednesday some update about the Hurricanes looking around the entire league to gauge the interest in their star forward.

We can understand why, despite the interest for his services around the league, including from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canes would prefer to count on Rantanen for a long playoff run, or perhaps cannot find any taker for a player who isn’t really the same since the move away from his close friend and former teammate Nathan MacKinnon.

Kaplan, and even Frank Seravalli, believe that the Hurricanes might have decided to abort a Rantanen trade with less than two days. That’s a huge risk, but perhaps one that will pay off this summer if Rantanen decides to give Carolina a chance after all.