The Blackhawks could expedite their painstaking rebuilding process and be significant players in free agency this summer.

The trade is a stunning midseason swap of point-per-game players in their primes, an anomaly in the NHL trade market in the salary-cap era.

The Avalanche have pulled off a stunner. Mikko Rantanen is heading to the Carolina Hurricanes in a stunning and complex Friday night deal also involving the Chicago Blackhawks.

Drury’s uncle is Chris Drury, who spent four seasons with the Avalanche (1998-02), was a member of the 2001 Stanley Cup championship team and is the current General Manager of the New York Rangers.

Getting a 3rd round pick from the Hurricanes gives the Blackhawks nine total selections in the upcoming draft.

The deal sees Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall go to Carolina and Martin Necas, Jack Drury and draft picks head to Colorado. Chicago gets its own 2025 third-round pick back and takes on half of Rantanen's $9.

Rob Couch is the Deputy Editor for the Chicago Blackhawks team site with The Hockey News. He has been writing about hockey, fantasy hockey, and betting for three years and watches as much hockey as possible. You can follow him at @RobCouch555 on Twitter.

If the Chicago Blackhawks still want to trade Seth Jones, they will still be able to retain salary on his contract.

The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly trading Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of a blockbuster deal sending Mikko Rantanen to Raleigh.

The Carolina Hurricanes acquired forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and forward Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in a blockbuster three-team trade Friday. The Hurricanes sent forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas to Colorado, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The Carolina Hurricanes executed a bombshell three-team trade on Friday evening, adding Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen and Chicago