Hurricanes hold preliminary extension talks with Rantanen

Carolina Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said Saturday the team has already held preliminary extension discussions with Mikko Rantanen's agent.

The Hurricanes acquired Rantanen and Taylor Hall late Friday in a three-team trade that sent Martin Necas to the Colorado Avalanche. Rantanen is an unrestricted free agent July 1 but can put pen to paper on a new deal at any point. Tulsky doesn't believe a potential long-term agreement will happen overnight.

"I wouldn't expect him to sign the next eight years of his life away without knowing what he's getting into," Tulsky said, according to Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News.

The Hurricanes will be the only team eligible to give Rantanen an eight-year deal. If he reaches free agency, he can only sign for a maximum of seven years.

The Avalanche and Rantanen were reported to be in a stalemate in contract negotiations. Rantanen was believed to be asking for an average annual value in the neighborhood of $14 million, a significant raise from his current $9.25 million.

Sebastian Aho is Carolina's highest-paid player with a $9.75-million cap hit.

Tulsky revealed the Hurricanes and Avalanche first discussed a Rantanen trade over the summer and that talks picked up over the past six-to-eight weeks.

"He's a fantastic player, and we expect him to change our team and make us better," Tulsky said, per The Athletic's Cory Lavalette.

Rantanen is sixth in league scoring with 64 points in 49 games.