Insider Reveals Record-Breaking Offer One Canadian Team Made for Mikko Rantanen

The Carolina Hurricanes actually followed through on their plans to flip Mikko Rantanen today, as they sent him to the Dallas Stars.

At first, it appeared as though the trade fell apart due to a contract dispute between Rantanen and the Stars but in the end, Dallas secured their guy.

Of course, Rantanen was the biggest fish available today so basically every contender in the league at least made an effort to talk to Carolina about him.

One team that perhaps got a bit closer than the others was the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to Leafs insider Nick Kypreos, Brad Treliving was willing to give up the haul of a lifetime for a chance to add Rantanen to his team.

The offer reportedly included two of the Leafs best prospects in Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, as well as two first-round draft picks, and potentially more assets.

Kypreos also added that a big factor in deciding the trade destination for Rantanen came down to the fact that Hurricanes general manager Erik Tulsky didn't want to risk facing him in the playoffs later this year.

The Leafs may not have landed the trade, but it does seem like they may have increased the asking price on him as the Stars had to give up a king's ransom of their own to get the goal-scoring winger.

The team's best rookie Logan Stankoven went the other way alongside two first-round draft picks that are both top-ten protected, and two third-round picks as well.

That being said, everyone always wants to be the bride and not the bridesmaid. This time around Treliving was the bridesmaid and Jim Nill was the bride.

Nill secured Rantanen long-term with the trade as well, signing him to an eight-year contract that carries a cap hit of 12 million dollars a season.

The Stars certainly seem like the team to beat now with another one of the league's top offensive players added to their roster.