Blockbuster Mikko Rantanen Trade Reported by Elliotte Friedman Falls Apart Overnight

Late last night the NHL world was buzzing after reports emerged that the Carolina Hurricanes were going to trade Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars.

Rantanen had been involved in rumors basically since the day he arrived in Carolina, as the Hurricanes were apparently hoping to sign him to an extension that never came.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman sparked the buzz when he revealed that the trade talks between the teams were heating up.

Shortly after his initial report, he followed it up by saying that the Stars and Rantanen were locked in negotiations for a contract extension, and the whole deal seemed to depend on it.

In fact, fellow insider Frank Seravalli later reported that the Stars had been given permission to talk to Rantanen, and that the deal was in fact dependent on whether or not they could come to terms with an extension.

Unfortunately, reports this morning indicate that the two teams will not be coming to an agreement.

It sounds as if a deal was in place, but the Stars were adamant about needing an extension in place before the could pull the trigger, and Rantanen just wasn't ready to commit to that.

NHL insider Cam Robinson believes money is not the issue for Rantanen, but rather he wants to take some time to figure out where he wants to spend the rest of his career.

This is very fair as the Finish forward has only ever known Colorado and would be committing to a city he's never lived in if he signed an extension after a trade today.

As such, it seems like he will most likely remain with the Hurricanes through the rest of the season.

Of course, anything could change before 3PM EST, so be sure to stay tuned as the Hurricanes still seem to remain interested in flipping him if they can.