Mikko Rantanen's representative denied claims made by Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour about the superstar winger.
"We've got a ton of respect for Rod Brind'Amour, both as a player and a coach, but in this situation, he's completely misinformed," Andy Scott told Sportsnet 590's The FAN Hockey Show on Tuesday.
Brind'Amour said Monday that Rantanen told him Carolina wasn't the place for him during the Finnish forward's brief tenure with the Canes. The bench boss appreciated him conveying that but felt "we probably should have known that before we made the deal" to acquire him from the Colorado Avalanche in late January.
The head coach also said Monday that Rantanen - who was a pending unrestricted free agent - told the Hurricanes he was only willing to sign a contract extension with four teams. Carolina traded Rantanen to the Dallas Stars on Friday, and the 28-year-old immediately inked an eight-year, $96-million pact with his new club.
"Mikko, when he was traded (to the Hurricanes), we were solely focused on Colorado, so there was no list of any kind," Scott said. "In fact, when he arrived (with the Canes), I met him in the days following and he was keeping a completely open mind about Carolina ... He felt it out and it just didn't make sense from more of a hockey standpoint, from a style-of-play standpoint."
Scott added that it was "nothing personal" from Rantanen, who the agent said thinks highly of Brind'Amour and of his former Hurricanes teammates.
"This is a player that had a right to determine where he was going to play for the next eight years of his career," Scott said. "He gave it a lot of thought. Even at 4 Nations ... after 4 Nations, he had not made up his mind. And, ultimately, he did make up his mind and we helped Carolina out by providing a list of teams at that stage, in terms of where he would go. But that is the truth. That's how this unfolded. Anything otherwise is just not the case."
Rantanen collected only two goals and four assists in 13 games with the Hurricanes. He's matched that goal total and chipped in one helper in his first two contests with the Stars.
