Report: Stars-Canes deal for Rantanen in place pending extension

The Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars have a trade in place for Mikko Rantanen that's contingent upon the superstar forward signing a contract extension with the Stars, ESPN's Emily Kaplan reports.

The two sides remain in talks Friday in the lead-up to the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, Kaplan added.

Talks were intensifying for a trade that would send Rantanen from Carolina to Dallas, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported late Thursday night.

The framework of the trade was uncertain, though it was expected that an extension for the pending unrestricted free agent would be a factor, Friedman added.

The Hurricanes acquired in Rantanen in January as part of a three-way blockbuster trade that sent Martin Necas to the Colorado Avalanche.

Rantanen is coming off back-to-back 100-point seasons and was playing at a similar pace through 49 games with the Avalanche. However, he's struggled to find his groove in Carolina, producing just two goals and four assists in 13 games since the move.

The 28-year-old's cap hit is $4.625 million after the Chicago Blackhawks retained 50% of it as part of January's trade. It could be brought down to $2.23 million if the Hurricanes - or another team - are willing to retain the additional 50%.

The Stars have cap room at their disposal despite already acquiring forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks in February.

Tyler Seguin and his $9.85 million are on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of the regular season. It's also unclear if Miro Heiskanen ($8.45 million) will return before the end of the campaign. He was given a month-to-month timeline in early February after knee surgery.