First team to three goals wins! The Dallas Stars made a Really Big Hockey Trade at the NHL deadline yesterday. Now we begin to see what will come of it, as Mikko Rantanen makes his Victory Green debut on the road against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Finnish forward was easily the leading get among the 2025 TDL class. GM Jim Nill made the biggest splash of the week with his Friday moves — trading rising rookie Logan Stankoven and four NHL Draft picks for the 28-year-old power player’s expiring contract, then signing him to an eight-year, $96 million extension.
Rantanen has struggled this season after his sudden trade by the Colorado Avalanche — where he consistently put up a point per game with Nathan MacKinnon at his side — to the Carolina Hurricanes. Neither team believed they could re-sign Rantanen when his contract expired in July, adding to the uncertainty of his case. Now, with a fresh extension in his back pocket and the famously Finn-friendly Stars surrounding him, it’s easy to predict an incoming blaze of glory from the player they call Moose.
Can it be that simple? Stars fans will be watching for Rantanen’s return to form tonight in Rogers Place.
Speaking of offense: Neither of these teams have gotten where they are right now — second in their respective divisions and duking it out among the top four in the Western Conference — on account of their iron-wall defense. But the Stars could feel the absence of Miro Heiskanen and Nils Lundkvist a little more acutely in the face of the Oilers’ firepower.
Leon Draisaitl leads the league in goals with 46 and is running second in points with 94, which makes it all the more astonishing that he’s only Edmonton’s No. 2 center. Connor McDavid’s relative scoring drought might obscure the fact that he’s still fifth in the NHL in points, thanks to his No. 4 ranking in assists (56 in total).
Edmonton has announced that Jake Walman will play tonight. The Oilers acquired the left-shot defender from the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, with forward Carl Berglund and a 2026 conditional first-round pick going the other way. With Mattias Ekholm still recovering from an undisclosed injury, Walman is expected to shore up the Oil’s suffering port side on D.
The Oilers also acquired forwards Trent Frederic and Max Jones in a three-way players-for-future-considerations trade with the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Frederic is week-to-week with an ankle injury and is not expected to play tonight.
Dallas Stars Lineup
Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Mikko Rantanen (96)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Mikael Granlund (64)
Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Oskar Bäck (10) – Sam Steel (18) – Mavrik Bourque (22)
Thomas Harley (55) – Ilya Lyubushkin (46)
Esa Lindell (23) – Cody Ceci (44)
Lian Bichsel (6) – Matt Dumba (46)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Casey DeSmith (1)
Scratches (likely): Colin Blackwell (15), Brendan Smith (2)
Injured: Miro Heiskanen (4), Nils Lundkvist (5), Tyler Seguin (91)
Edmonton Oilers Lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) – Connor McDavid (97) – Zach Hyman (18)
Vasily Podkolzin (92) – Leon Draisaitl (29) – Viktor Arvidsson (33)
Mattias Janmark (13) – Adam Henrique (19) – Connor Brown (28)
Max Jones (46) – Kasperi Kapanen (42) – Corey Perry (90)
Darnell Nurse (25) – Evan Bouchard (2)
Brett Kulak (27) – Ty Emberson (49)
Jake Walman (96) – Troy Stecher (51)
Stuart Skinner (74)
Calvin Pickard (30)
Scratch (likely): Jeff Skinner (53)
Injured: Mattias Ekholm (14), John Klingberg (36), Evander Kane (91), Trent Frederic (21)
Players To Watch
Mikko Rantanen. The Finnish Mafia’s new assassin will be under the microscope. Stars followers are excited — but they’ll want to know that the player who cost the team young headliner (and fan favorite) Logan Stankoven can deliver the goods. What will he have to do to prove it?
Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton’s Other Guy is the top goal scorer in the NHL this season, and it isn’t close. He’s a powerful reminder that the Oilers are more than just McJesus and Company, and that they’re in a decently stacked offensive position themselves.
Jason Robertson. Robo has been on a tear in 2025, especially since the 4 Nations Face-Off ended. Is it his body finally catching up after his off-season surgery? Or is it the sting of his snub by Team USA? A little of both? If he keeps this up, it won’t matter.
BONUS PICK: Corey Perry. As of tonight, the former Star is facing all three of his former teams in consecutive games. He averages less than 12:00 TOI these days (11:33), but he’s second in the league in goals among players who do. We all know what he’s capable of. Look out.
Here are the gameday deets, straight from the Stars themselves. Enjoy.
‼️ IT'S MIKKO RANTANEN STARS DEBUT NIGHT IN EDMONTON ‼️
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 8, 2025
🆚 Edmonton Oilers
⏰ 9:00pm CT
📍 Rogers Place
📺 @victoryplustv
📲 https://t.co/BqgI7O8O6p
📻 @dfwticket @Toyota | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/ujTyGWzF3W