Mikko Rantanen has already been traded once this season as the Colorado Avalanche sent him to the Carolina Hurricanes in what has been the biggest trade to this point. However, there are some rumblings that the Hurricanes may make him available before the deadline and if that is the case the Los Angeles Kings have to get aggressive to try and trade for him.
The reason that the Hurricanes might even entertain the idea is that Rantanen is set to be a free agent after this season. If they believe they can't sign him to an extension then it makes sense to try and trade him to get something back before he were to leave in free agency.
If the Los Angeles Kings were to trade for Rantanen, the discussion has to center around the idea that Rantanen would be a rental player. This would now be two franchises this season who were unable to reach an agreement on a new contract and the Kings shouldn't assume they could get something done.
Even as a rental player, Rantanen would be very valuable to the Kings and is exactly the type of player they need. The offense has struggled at times and adding a premier forward like him to play with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe would really transform this group. This would help the Kings move up into that top tier in the Western Conference.
It would certainly cost the Kings good players and these are four players that should be made available to build out a trade package that would interest the Carolina Hurricanes.