Will he re-sign in Carolina after this season -- and if not, where else? And what will other contenders do to keep pace ahead of the March 7 deadline?

Rantanen is one of the NHL’s top playoff performers; he ranks fourth among active players in career playoff points per game (1.25) behind Edmonton Oilers forwards Connor McDavid (1.58), Leon Draisaitl (1.46) and his now former teammate MacKinnon (1.30) and helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

The word “blockbuster” gets thrown around a little too often in today’s NHL, often for trades unworthy of the term, in the same way that anything might feel like a five-star meal to a starving man. But the deal that dropped on Friday night? That one deserves the title, no questions asked.