Instant impact: Mikko Rantanen’s impressive showing creates hope for future

Mikko Rantanen posted a nice message on Instagram over the weekend, and that’s good news for Stars fans.

Rantanen was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline for a pretty big haul that included two first-round draft picks and top prospect Logan Stankoven, and then signed an eight-year contract extension that makes him the team’s highest-paid player at $12 million a year. That’s significant. So, the fact he seems to be taking a bit of a leadership role also carries some weight.

Here is what the 28-year-old winger wrote: "Change is never easy, but I’m grateful for the journey this season that brought me to the Stars. Thank you to the entire Dallas organization and fanbase for a warm welcome. I’m excited for the future of this team. Enjoy your summer Stars fans and see you in September."

Rantanen’s year has been hectic. He had played a decade in Colorado and was hoping he would be able to sign a contract extension that would allow him to stay. However, the negotiations between his camp and the Avalanche got wonky, and communication became an issue. In January, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a move he said caught him by surprise. Yes, he said he understood the money talks were stalled. Yes, he said he understood that a trade was possible if the contract extension didn’t get done. But, with the trade deadline not until March, he said he felt there was more time.

Instead, Colorado took a deal that landed a player who was two years younger and $3 million cheaper, and felt that was the best path forward.

To be fair, there were issues on both sides that caused the trade, so that’s just business in the NHL.

But the move that Carolina made was a little more interesting. The Hurricanes acquired Rantanen without really figuring out if a contract extension was possible. Once the big Finn got to the Hurricanes, it appeared pretty clear he would simply wait for free agency and take his chances there. That didn’t make sense for Carolina, so they put him on the trade block. Dallas was able to work out a deal, and Rantanen made his way into Victory Green.

Even that decision wasn’t easy. One, Rantanen knew the price for a trade would be steep. Two, they still had to come up with a number for his contact extension. In a tough back and forth, they settled on the $12 million, and Rantanen had his third team in a span of two months.

That’s a hard life experience for any pro athlete, but the fact it was a good fit in Dallas made things easier. The Stars already has several Finns who had played with Rantanen in international competitions, including Esa Lindell, Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Mikael Granlund. Rantanen finished the year with 18 points (5 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games and then led the Stars in playoff scoring with 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in 18 games.

After the Stars were eliminated by Edmonton in the Western Conference Final, Rantanen was positive in his review.

“Resilient group. I’m very proud of how everybody battled, even today,” he said after Game 5. “I’m proud, and it’s too early to say what there is to improve. I think we have a long summer now to think about it. But it’s three years in a row this team has been this close, so it stings for sure.”

That’s another good sign for Stars fans. Rantanen is already bought in and starting to feel the experience of what it means to be a part of this organization. He knows they haven’t won the Cup since 1999. He knows they keep getting close and falling short.

Clearly, the team is in for a lot of changes, as it is moving past Pete DeBoer and looking for a new coach. In addition, the money going to Rantanen gets added to raises for players like Jake Oettinger and Wyatt Johnston, and cap gets harder to manage. With under $5 million in cap space and several players still needing to be signed, the front office has some tough decisions. Should it try to trade young winger Jason Robertson to recoup some draft picks and create almost $8 million in cap space? Would it be smarter to instead try to trade players like Mason Marchment, Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba and use that cap space? Is that even a realistic possibility?

That uncertainty is why it’s so important to have a player like Rantanen – and have him on board. It’s clear that general manager Jim Nill made a decision to be a part of the NHL that values a superstar. Yes, this is the ultimate team sport. Yes, you have to have more than a superstar. But it seems pretty clear that teams that have a Connor McDavid, that have a Nathan MacKinnon, that have a Matthew Tkachuk, they have an advantage. Vegas made a big deal to get Jack Eichel in 2022 and won the Cup in 2023. He is their highest paid player at $10 million and their leading scorer. That’s kind of how this can work.

Can Rantanen be that guy? All signs seem to point to yes. While most Finnish players are more quiet by nature, Rantanen has a bigger personality.

“He’s a little different than the other Finns…in a good way,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “It’s never easy coming into a new team. You don’t want to step on toes, you maybe feel you should be more quiet…but he’s different. He had a voice right from day one, and I think he should. He’s a guy who has been there and done that, he’s somebody we all respect. He’s going to be a big leader for us going forward.”

Rantanen has an intense workout routine that he follows religiously. That means he’ll often stay after morning skate and ride the last bus back to the hotel. That means he’ll be seen hanging out with the healthy scratches and having fun with pretty much every member of the team. When he played, Rantanen was often double-shifted and triple-shifted, playing beside everyone from Sam Steel to Johnston to Mavrik Bourque. That also broadens his impact.

Rantanen was obviously motivated when he played against his old team, and he was clearly the driving force in beating Colorado in the First Round. But he also stepped up in some big games against Winnipeg, and helped the Stars power through a tough series there. In scoring 9 goals and adding 9 assists in a 7-game span, Rantanen flashed what his potential could be.

“I’ve played with some great players, some star players, but I don’t know if I’ve played with someone at this level, being able to turn it on like he did in the playoffs,” teammate Tyler Seguin said. “But even at the end when he wasn’t scoring, it was how detailed he was, how he was in puck battles.”

Rantanen did hit the wall at times, as did MacKinnon, Eichel, and McDavid, but that’s why you need a team that’s deeper than just one or two players. Matt Duchene, who has had to carry the weight of being a superstar in his career, said the best thing about this Stars team is the fact it is balanced.

“I don’t think anyone in that room is looking for him to be superman and put us all on his back and carry us,” Duchene said. “The rest of us have enough pride to do what we can.”

But having Rantanen pushing the group forward is huge.

“I think he knows he’s a big part of something,” Duchene said. “There are going to be expectations with the contract, there always is, it comes with the territory.”

Thus, the Instagram message was important. It has been a frantic slice of life. It has been a drastic change in how he will do things. It has been unsettling. But the fact is, the best years of Rantanen’s career could be ahead of him, and that’s an exciting possibility.

“What really impressed me with Mikko was his leadership,” Nill said. “Overall, the Finns are a pretty quiet group, but he’s pretty vocal. He’s wired, he’s as disciplined an athlete as I’ve ever seen, he knows what he’s doing, he’s got a plan, his preparation is really impressive. He’s everything we thought he would be.”

And, actually, a little bit more.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.