As Bissonnette explained on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs should pursue the signing of new Carolina Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen if he gets to free agency and Toronto lets Mitch Marner walk.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 3-1 to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday (Jan. 29). The Maple Leafs have two winless skids of three straight games in January.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Hurricanes explored trades involving Vancouver Canucks stars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, but ultimately pivoted at the last moment. Speaking on "The Daily Faceoff Rundown" on Monday, Frank Seravalli revealed that Carolina could also have “inquired” about Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner.

According to insider Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Carolina Hurricanes showed interest in Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner.

The Carolina Hurricanes pulled off a blockbuster trade for Mikko Rantanen. The next thing on the agenda is to sign him to an extension to prevent the team from losing the forward to free agency.

Andersen played his 500 th game on Jan. 20 against the Blackhawks in Chicago. He is the second goalie to reach the career milestone with the Hurricanes. On Jan. 23, he recorded his 300 th career win after the Hurricanes defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets.

A trade pitch has the Toronto Maple Leafs trading star forward Mitch Marner in a five-player deal with the Nashville Predators.

While it's unknown what the package for Marner would have included, his situation would have been a lot murkier than Rantanen's.

The Mikko Rantanen trade brought up NHL speculation about the futures of the Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner and Penguins' Sidney Crosby, which were quickly addressed.

The blockbuster Mikko Rantanen/Martin Necas trade shocked the NHL. And if the Leafs can't re-sign Mitch Marner to a contract extension, he'll bring many assets back in a trade.

Auston Matthews will head the United States’ leadership group at the 4 Nations Face-Off. USA Hockey announced on Thursday afternoon that the Maple Leafs captain will be its captain for the event in Montreal and Boston, running from Feb. 12-20. Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers and Charlie McAvoy each will wear an ‘A’ for the United States.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Morning Skate with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin and was asked about Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Could there be a way for Toronto to trade him, similar to Mikko Rantanen ‘s deal with Carolina from Colorado? Friedman does not think that will happen.