If the Chicago Blackhawks are interested in signing Mikko Rantanen this summer, then why didn't they trade for him?

The Chicago Blackhawks may end doing more than retaining some of Mikko Rantanen's salary this offseason.

The Athletic's Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus write that Rantanen is a free agent target the Hawks will pursue this offseason.

It makes sense since he is premier player who be great to pair up with Connor Bedard. Plus, the Hawks have the cap space to potentially afford his rumored desire for a $14 million AAV.

Then it begs to question, why not just trade for Rantanen instead of helping facilitate him going to Carolina?

It's not like the Hawks could acquire his talents now and just hand him a contract extension to keep his services.

There was some speculation general manager Kyle Davidson could be working on a deal with Colorado since he took in two Avalanche games. Turns it he was just passing time while in town to watch prospect Aidan Thompson who skates for the University of Denver.

Also, the Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported (a subscription is required to access content linked) the Hawks did not even know Rantanen was the salary they were retaining until the closing moments of the trade.

So, it sounds like Davidson was not even aware Rantanen was available this early in the trading season. The feeling was if Rantanen was getting moved it would be right before next month's trade deadline after the Avalanche had exhausted all hope of hammering out an extension.

Another conclusion you can draw as to why the Hawks did not just get Rantanen in a trade is they do not have a young player like Martin Necas to help the Avalanche keep pace in the wild card race.

If Colorado was interested in a rebuild, then the Blackhawks are a perfect match with the draft picks and prospects they have. The Avalanche are still in the playoff hunt and the only reason they traded Rantanen was the fear of losing him for nothing.

So, getting a player back that can still keep the Avs competitive had to be one of the goals in Colorado's desired return in any deal.

While many fans and observers seem to think Taylor Hall has higher trade value, he is not producing this season quite like Necas. Plus, Necas is 26 with the best days of his career still ahead of him. Hall is 33 and his days of winning the Hart Trophy are over.

If Lukas Reichel was playing more like a top six forward, then the Hawks could put together an attractive offer of a young-and-up-and-coming player to help with a playoff push and draft picks to help keep the future bright.

No, Seth Jones is not going to be a better alternative than Necas even at a retained salary.

That is why Carolina has Rantanen because they could offer immediate help and future premium picks whereas all the Hawks had was draft picks.