Mikko Rantanen #96 of the Carolina Hurricanes warms up prior to a game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
On the eve of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, NHL trade chatter linking the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes exploded on social media. That prompted RG to poke around and find out if there was any truth to the rumors that connected Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen, and Devils forward Dawson Mercer and defenseman Simon Nemec in what would potentially be a three-way trade.
“I’ve heard all of those names are in play tonight, but I can’t connect them right now,” a trusted NHL source told RG on Thursday night.
However, another NHL source warned that this chatter could be the usual rumors intensifying before an NHL Trade Deadline.
“I think too many people are trying to connect the dots,” a veteran NHL scout told RG late Thursday night. “That being said, I wouldn’t count the Devils out on any of that. They’re going hard.”
As Thursday went on, numerous reports indicated that the Hurricanes were leaning towards trading Rantanen, who just six weeks ago was traded to Carolina in a three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks.
That trade also saw forward Taylor Hall go to the Hurricanes while forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas went to Colorado, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from Carolina, who also acquired Chicago forward prospect Nils Juntorp. The Blackhawks acquired a third-round pick in the 2025 Draft from Carolina. The Blackhawks retained 50 percent of Rantanen's $9.25 million salary cap hit.
A Devils source did later confirm that the Devils were in trade talks with both the Hurricanes and Canucks but would not specify any players, picks, or prospects involved.
Considering the bad news he got on Wednesday, the fact that Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald was exploring multiple trade options and targets on Thursday night is not a surprise.
On Wednesday, Fitzgerald and the Devils found out that top center Jack Hughes was out for the season with an upper-body injury. Then he learned that defenseman Dougie Hamilton was week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Fitzgerald didn’t waste time adding depth to the blue line on Thursday morning by acquiring two-time Stanley Cup champion and veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for prospect Herman Traff and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
It should also be noted that even before the Devils lost Hughes and Hamilton to injuries, RG reported last Saturday that Fitzgerald was going all in at the NHL Trade Deadline.
“They’re going for it, that’s for sure,” an NHL executive source told a week ago.
“I’m hearing they’d really like to add a rugged, scoring, playoff-type guy into their top-6 and also add more depth on defense. With the way they’ve been playing heading into and coming out of the break, I think you’ll see Fitz do something soon, maybe even by Monday.”
By all accounts, Fitzgerald was still exploring plenty of NHL trade options on some of the biggest names on the trade market as the clock wound down to the 3 p.m. ET deadline on Friday.
With 24 years of experience (SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, ESPN Boston, NESN, NHL.com, etc.) covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA and junior hockey, and more, Jimmy Murphy’s hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a wide array of hockey media personalities that have lived in and around this great game. For 22 of his 24 years as a hockey and sports reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins on a daily basis, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals. Murphy is currently a co-host, along with Pierre McGuire, on The Eye Test Podcast.
