Once loved in Colorado, Mikko Rantanen was a key piece of the Avalanche’s core. Everything changed this season when the team traded him to Carolina, only for the Hurricanes to send him to the Dallas Stars just ahead of the deadline.
That decision came back to haunt the Avalanche in the biggest way possible. Four months after being moved from the only NHL team he’d known, Rantanen is chasing his second Stanley Cup, helping send Colorado into an early offseason.
Mikko Rantanen Sends Avalanche Packing
Adding insult to Colorado’s injury, Rantanen scored a third-period hat trick in Game 7 to clinch the series.
Rantanen flipped the script with the Stars trailing 2-0 early in the third period. He scored three times in the final frame — including the tying goal on the power play and an empty-netter to seal the deal — as Dallas pulled off a wild 4–2 comeback. He capped off the hat trick by tossing a hat back into the crowd.
Colorado controlled most of the game. Josh Manson added a short-handed goal in the second, and Nathan MacKinnon made it 2–0 early in the third. But everything shifted when Rantanen found the net. Wyatt Johnston added a power-play goal to tie things up before Dallas took its first and final lead of the night.
After Dallas sealed the win, both teams entered the handshake line for a respectful close to a series that lived up to the hype, giving Rantanen a chance to say goodbye to his former teammates one last time.
Fans flooded social media with reactions to the moment Rantanen shared an emotional embrace with Avalanche captain and close friend Gabriel Landeskog.
Together, they helped lead the Avalanche to victory in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals. Rantanen led all Colorado forwards with 25 points in the playoff run.
Rantanen racked up five goals and 12 points across the seven-game series. Landeskog, who returned from a three-year layoff dealing with multiple knee injuries, contributed one goal and five points in five games.
Despite playing with three different teams, Rantanen still produced a terrific season. In 82 games, he finished with 32 goals and 56 assists. That’s in line with Rantanen’s career production. In 652 career games, he has registered 705 points.
Dallas hopes the former No. 10 overall pick can continue to power their offense through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Next up, the Stars will face the winner of Game 7 between the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets. But for now, Dallas fans can savor Rantanen’s epic night.