The Avalanche traded Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 24, only to watch the Hurricanes flip him to their Central Division rivals on March 7. The pending unrestricted free agent signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Stars.

In Game 6, Rantanen and Roope Hintz made NHL history by becoming the first teammates to score four points in a single period. But that was a footnote in Colorado’s 7-4 win that made Saturday’s Game 7 necessary. So Rantanen sent one better with a hat trick in the final 13 minutes of the game.

Mikko Rantanen made sure the Colorado Avalanche missed him in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Dallas Stars in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Rantanen scored a third-period hat trick against his former team to lead the Stars to the second round with a 4-2 comeback win on Saturday night.