DALLAS — Mikko Rantanen`s journey to becoming a dominant force in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs wasn`t direct; initially, he appeared to be struggling.
Dallas defenseman Brendan Smith commented that Rantanen`s eventful year meant he needed time to feel at home with the Stars.
During his initial four seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, Rantanen ranked among the NHL`s elite scorers, placing fifth in goals and seventh in points per game. He was maintaining this high performance level with 25 goals and 1.31 points per game for the Avalanche this season.
But then, after 49 games, his situation drastically changed.
Rantanen was first traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on January 24th as part of a three-way deal. Following 13 unspectacular games and his public statement that he wouldn`t sign an extension before becoming a free agent, Rantanen was traded a second time to the Dallas Stars just before the March 7th NHL trade deadline. He signed an eight-year extension with Dallas, finally bringing stability to his situation.
In his 20 regular-season games with Dallas, his performance was below his career averages (five goals, 0.90 points per game). His playoff run also started quietly, recording only one assist in the first four games against his former Colorado teammates in the initial round.
Questions emerged from fans and the media: Was his play worth the significant contract? Could he perform at an elite level without former linemates like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who had contributed to his past success? Would he match his reputation as a clutch playoff performer? Many wondered who Mikko Rantanen truly was in this new context.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer commented on Rantanen`s difficult year, noting the significant media attention and the many doubters given his circumstances and varied performances. His teammates observed Rantanen trying to find his rhythm. Smith explained that professional hockey requires adaptability, saying, “It`s an interesting profession where you can be great, but then you get put in a different situation, and all of a sudden you`re trying to figure out comradery, where you fit, all these little things.” He was unsure if it worked well in Carolina and felt Rantanen was still adjusting in Dallas.
But what about now?
“Now,” Smith remarked with a laugh, “he looks comfortable.”
Since Game 5 of the series against the Avalanche, Rantanen`s performance has surged, accumulating 18 points in just seven games. This impressive run coincided with five Dallas victories, propelling them to a 3-1 lead over the Winnipeg Jets in their second-round series and positioning them for a potential third consecutive appearance in the Western Conference finals.
Rantanen commented on his current mindset: “I`m trying to stay in the moment. I`m happy to help the team and try to keep doing that as much as I can, both ends of the ice,” adding that he aims to remain “even keel after wins and good games.”
As of Tuesday night, Rantanen was the leading scorer in the postseason with 19 points in 11 games. He set new NHL records, including the most three-point games by a player through their team`s first 10 playoff contests in a single year and being involved in 13 consecutive goals scored by his team. At one point, he had contributed to 15 out of 16 Dallas goals.
Following the Stars` Game 3 win against Winnipeg, coach DeBoer remarked, “He`s just getting started. He`s just warming up here,” adding, “I think he`s on a mission.”
The 2015 NHL Draft class was remarkably strong.
The Avalanche selected Rantanen, an 18-year-old winger competing against adults in Finland`s SM-liiga, after top prospects such as Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Noah Hanifin, Zach Werenski, and Timo Meier were chosen.
Over the subsequent 10 seasons, Rantanen emerged as the second-highest goal scorer from that draft class, with 294 goals, trailing only McDavid (361), a three-time MVP and five-time scoring champion. His effective partnership with MacKinnon significantly contributed to both players` offensive prowess. During his consecutive 100-point seasons with the Avalanche in 2022-23 and 2023-24, approximately 75% of Rantanen`s total ice time was spent playing with MacKinnon.
MacKinnon credited Rantanen, saying, “He helped grow this organization into a Stanley Cup winner and a contender every single season. He`s a big reason why.”
Rantanen was a crucial contributor to Colorado`s 2022 Stanley Cup championship run, recording 25 points in 20 games.
Rantanen signed a significant six-year extension in 2019. As he approached unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2025, discussions around his future with the Avalanche focused on his potential salary expectations relative to MacKinnon and Makar`s contracts. Rantanen was optimistic about remaining with Colorado, recalling, “It was a weird situation overall. Negotiations were going on with Colorado. Six weeks before the deadline, we were negotiating.” He stated he met with the front office face-to-face, telling them, “I`ll be flexible. That I want to play here for a long time.” He added, “Then a couple days later, they traded me. So that was emotional.”
The Hurricanes received forward Martin Necas, their leading scorer at the time, as part of the trade package for Rantanen. When Carolina contacted Rantanen about a potential sign-and-trade before the deal, he informed them his preference was to stay in Colorado. He said, “They still did the trade. That was their decision.”
He described his initial days with Carolina as “shocking” and stated that after a few weeks, he didn`t feel comfortable there. This included issues with “where I fit in the playing style,” as he adjusted to coach Rod Brind`amour`s system.
Rantanen has denied speculation that he arrived in Raleigh with a list of preferred trade destinations and also refuted reports calling it a “family decision” not to sign long-term, asserting, “It was a hockey decision at the end of the day and nothing else.”
Rantanen provided Carolina GM Eric Tulsky with a limited list of potential trade destinations if they opted not to keep him as a rental player who would leave for nothing in free agency. Dallas GM Jim Nill mentioned that the Hurricanes initiated exploratory calls about two weeks prior to the trade deadline.
Nill stated, “We were one of the teams they called to see if there was interest, and then with about a week to 10 days before the trade deadline, we said, `You know what? Let`s look at it,` but still not thinking that was the direction we were going to go.” Ultimately, they decided to proceed, sending promising young forward Logan Stankoven and four draft picks to the Hurricanes in exchange for Rantanen.
Dallas coach DeBoer noted that the arrival of a star player like Rantanen dramatically altered the team dynamics. He explained, “It definitely changes things when you have a guy like that, a star player. It changes the identity of your team.”
DeBoer felt the Stars, previously structured around depth and forechecking pressure “Probably more like a Carolina-type identity,” needed to adjust. “I think when you add a player like that, you have to take on a little bit of a different identity,” he said. “You have to coach your team a little bit differently. You have to get him out there more. So I think that`s the challenge is to integrate him and build around that without losing what`s made us successful here.”
Rantanen`s current playoff dominance is closely linked to him finally feeling settled and comfortable with the Stars.
Being around his countrymen likely contributed to this feeling of ease.
Before Game 4 against the Winnipeg Jets, the Stars` social media shared a photo of five players captioned, “For the first time, our new Finnish Mafia is at full strength.” This group includes Rantanen (from Nousiainen), forward Roope Hintz (Tampere), defenseman Miro Heiskanen (Espoo), center Mikael Granlund (Oulu), and defenseman Esa Lindell (Vantaa). The 3-1 victory in Game 4 was the first instance where all five Finnish players on the team played in the same game. Goalie Jake Oettinger was also key. Granlund scored a hat trick in that win, assisted by Rantanen and the returning Heiskanen, who had hoped the “Finnish 5” could play together. Heiskanen remarked, “We`ll see if they put us together there,” adding, “That would be nice. Maybe next game.”
While Rantanen spent much of his early time with Hintz after arriving from Carolina, he played only 6:55 with Granlund at 5-on-5 in the regular season. This changed significantly in the playoffs, where Rantanen has spent 65% of his even-strength ice time with Granlund as his center.
Granlund expressed his pleasure at playing with Rantanen: “It`s great to be on the same side, for sure,” he said. “We all can see what he`s doing out there right now. He`s such a great player, and he`s playing at a really high level.”
Smith noted that the Stars players had been suggesting uniting the Finnish players for a couple of weeks: “We we were talking about it for a couple weeks: Put the Finns together and let them deal with it,” Smith said. “Let them get angry at each other, let them be happy with each other, let them deal with the situation.” He added that coach Pete DeBoer eventually did this, contributing to Rantanen`s apparent comfort.
The line featuring Hintz, Rantanen, and Granlund has been successful, boasting a plus-3 goal differential and a 15.4% on-ice shooting percentage.
This line combination is one reason for Rantanen`s record-setting scoring pace in the playoffs. The Stars` power play is another, where he has recorded two goals and four assists, contributing to the unit`s 32.4% conversion rate.
Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel remarked that defending Rantanen has become tougher with that line playing well. He noted, “He maybe doesn`t get enough credit for how well he does make plays and that line is certainly dangerous.” Arniel added, “He`s a big man and he had the puck a lot. Again, the biggest thing is time and space. I know that you hear that a lot in hockey, but at the end of the day, the more he holds onto [the puck], the more he`s comfortable, the harder it is to deny what he`s trying to do next.”
Rantanen`s current focus is on completing his mission.
This mission involves pushing for the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP), breaking through the Western Conference Finals barrier the Stars faced in the last two seasons, lifting the Stanley Cup once more, this time without MacKinnon`s help, justifying the Stars` investment in him, and perhaps reinforcing Colorado`s regret for trading him, especially after his dominant performance in eliminating the Avalanche.
Smith encapsulated this drive: “Somehow the deal should have probably gotten done in Colorado. It didn`t. So he`s like, `I`m trying to prove that I`m elite world class,`” Smith said. “If you want to say he`s a mission, I can understand that. Look all the way around the room. Everybody`s got something that they want to prove to everybody and prove about themselves. Right now, [Mikko is] trying to prove that, `Hey, I`m worth it.`”
