Full Details of Failed Mikko Rantanen Trade to Edmonton Leak Publicly

The 2025 trade deadline was absolutely wild for the NHL, with the biggest deal of all being the Dallas Stars landing star winger Mikko Rantanen on a sign-and-trade, inking their former division rival to an 8x12 deal.

However, there were other teams interested, with the Edmonton Oilers one of the notable teams that were interested in No. 96, but ultimately, a deal didn't get done, with the team adding Max Jones, Trent Frederic and Jake Walman at the deadline instead.

Now, we know why that deal ultimately fell apart, as it has been revealed that the asking price for Rantanen from the Hurricanes in this deal was blue liner Evan Bouchard.

Unsurprisingly, given how weak the Edmonton Oilers defensive group is, it's easy to see why they ended up turning this deal down, as it would have strengthened their biggest strength and unfortunately, weakened their biggest weakness.

While Bouchard has come under fire for much of the 2024/25 season given how he's played defensively, he's still a major threat offensively, and with the Oilers blue line consisting of Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm and little else (before Walman was acquired), it made sense for the team to hold onto Bouchard.

Now, the team will look to take it one step further than they did a year ago, and whether they accomplish that or not, they've got a huge decision to make on Bouchard in the upcoming summer, as he's eligible for a major extension that could keep him in Edmonton for a long time to come.