The Colorado Avalanche has traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, according to multiple reports.

Once official, this would immediately be one of the most stunning transactions in franchise history. Martin Necas is coming to Colorado as part of the deal, which is a three-way trade involving the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina and Colorado, according to reports. Taylor Hall was a late healthy scratch for the Blackhawks and is also reportedly going to Carolina.

Necas, who turns 27 next month, is having a breakout season for the Hurricanes. A 6-foot-3 wing, Necas has 16 goals and 55 points in 49 games. He is in the first season of a two-year, $13 million contract.

Rantanen is in the final year of his contract and can be an unrestricted free agent in July. He leads the Avs with 25 goals and has 64 points, which was sixth in the NHL entering Friday night’s games.

A first-round pick in 2015, Rantanen has been part of the core for the Avs for years and is one of the best wings in the league. He set a career high with 55 goals and 105 points two seasons ago and has had back-to-back 100-point seasons.

Rantanen won the Stanley Cup with the Avs in 2022, and has been part of arguably the best “Big Three” in the sport for the past four seasons alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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The Colorado Avalanche has traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in one of the most stunning transactions in franchise history.

Colorado received Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft and a fourth-round selection in 2026 from the Hurricanes as part of a three-team deal announced late Friday night. Former league MVP Taylor Hall went from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Hurricanes as part of the blockbuster.

Necas, 26, is having a breakout season for the Hurricanes. A 6-foot-3 wing, Necas has 16 goals and 55 points in 49 games. He is in the first season of a two-year, $13 million contract.

He was a first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2017 NHL draft and set career highs in goals (28) and points (71) two seasons ago. While similar in size and position to Rantanen, he is faster and less physical than the guy who earned the nickname “Moose.”

Drury, who turns 25 next month, has three goals and nine points in 39 games this season while averaging 12:53 of ice time. He is a 5-foot-11 center who was a second-round pick in 2018. Drury is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.725 million cap hit.

His uncle is Chris Drury, who played four seasons with the Avalanche and was on the 2001 Stanley Cup-winning team. He is currently general manager of the New York Rangers.

Rantanen is in the final year of his contract and can be an unrestricted free agent in July. He leads the Avs with 25 goals and has 64 points, which was sixth in the NHL entering Friday night’s games.

A first-round pick in 2015, Rantanen has been part of the Avs’ core for years and is one of the best wings in the league. He set a career high with 55 goals and 105 points two seasons ago and has had back-to-back 100-point seasons.

Rantanen won the Stanley Cup with the Avs in 2022 as one-third of arguably the best “Big Three” in the sport for the past four seasons alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Rantanen has scored the sixth-most goals (287) and seventh-most points (681) in franchise history. His 55 goals in 2022-23 is tied for the third-most in franchise history and is the most since the club moved to Colorado.

The Blackhawks are retaining half of Rantanen’s cap hit for the rest of this season as part of the deal, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic.

Colorado signed Rantanen to a six-year contract worth $9.25 million per season on Sept. 28, 2019. He was a restricted free agent at the time. His agent also represents Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who signed an eight-year pact worth $14 million per season in September, and there have been reports that Rantanen was seeking a similar deal.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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The Miami Dolphins have their next position coach who will be tasked with getting Tyreek Hill’s unit in order.

Experienced NFL assistant coach Robert Prince is being hired by the Dolphins as wide receivers coach, according to a league source, confirming the initial NFL Network report.

Prince, who comes over after spending the last three seasons in the same role with the Dallas Cowboys, was first reported by ESPN on Thursday as interviewing for the job during the week.

Miami had a vacancy for the position after firing former wide receiver Wes Welker following his third season controlling the unit under coach Mike McDaniel.

It was an underwhelming 2024 season for Dolphins wide receivers, with Hill falling short of 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2019 and Jaylen Waddle missing the mark for the first time in his four-year professional career in Miami.

To add to that, Hill had a falling out with the organization following the team’s loss to the New York Jets in its season finale and elimination that same night. He indicated he wanted out from the team, but his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has since said Hill is committed to the Dolphins. General manager Chris Grier said at his season wrap-up press conference that he had a productive conversation with Hill in the days that followed the post-game outburst, and that the troubled wideout never requested a trade with him.

Prince, 59, has coached college and professional football since 1989. In the last three seasons with the Cowboys, he has had star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb under his tutelage.

He was with the Houston Texans in the same role in 2021 and led Detroit Lions wide receivers from 2014 to 2020, even acting as head coach for a game during the COVID-19 pandemic, when interim Lions head coach Darrell Bevell, who is now Miami’s quarterbacks coach, was out for a game due to COVID.

Prince has had various other assistant coaching roles on the offensive side of the ball with the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons, along with a number of college coaching stints.

The Dolphins also have an opening at special teams coordinator, after parting ways with Danny Crossman, who previously held that title.

Miami defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver completed an interview with the New Orleans Saints for their head coaching vacancy on Friday. If Weaver lands that job, the Dolphins could have a complete makeover on the defensive side of their coaching staff, as Weaver would likely take several assistants with him. If Weaver returns, continuity could be expected on the Dolphins defensive staff.

The celebration of Franz Wagner‘s highly anticipated return to the court after a 20-game absence didn’t last long inside Kia Center on Thursday night.

Although Wagner — who played in his first game since Dec. 6 after recovering from a torn right abdominal muscle injury — showed flashes of his former self when he racked up 20 points in a limited 24 minutes, the Magic totaled their fewest points of the season (79), lost by 22 to a then-15-win Trail Blazers squad and dropped their fifth straight contest.

It was Orlando‘s 9th loss in the last 12 games.

“Yeah, we’re struggling right now,” Wagner said. “We’ve got to understand, we’ve got to stick together. It’s part of a long season;  we go through ups and downs. It’s going to take everyone and us staying together to get out of it.

“[As] I said, we have a bunch of games left,” he added. “So it’s no reason to hang our heads, but we’ve got to get better.”

To be sure, the Magic have just 36 contests remaining in the regular season.

At 23-23, they entered Friday’s slate at No. 7 in the East, two games behind the No. 5 Pacers (24-20) but only a half-game in front of the No. 9 Heat (21-22), who host Orlando on Monday.

Before the Magic head to South Florida, though, they battle the No. 6 Pistons (23-21) at home Saturday.

“We know we’re in a little rut right now but we’ve got to go back to the basics and pull each other out of it,” veteran guard Cory Joseph told reporters in the locker room Thursday night.

While the group had been transparent about the fact they’d need time to figure out its flow again on both ends as key players such as Paolo Banchero (who played in his seventh game Thursday after a two-plus-month absence due to injury) and Wagner made their way back to the court, time isn’t on their side.

As Jonathan Isaac said in the locker room at Milwaukee last Wednesday, “It’s not as simple as, ‘Oh, we’ve got somebody back; everything is running perfectly smooth.'”

And Orlando will still need to re-integrate key players such as Jalen Suggs (low back strain), Goga Bitadze (concussion protocol), Cole Anthony (illness) and Gary Harris (left hamstring strain), who all weren’t available against Portland.

Suggs was upgraded to questionable Friday for Saturday’s game. As was Bitadze. Those two and Anthony are listed as questionable while Harris will miss his 12th consecutive contest.

Beede’s Breakdown: How Magic failed to take care of ball in loss to Portland

It’s Suggs, who’s often been described as the team’s “heart and soul,” that Orlando might miss the most. There’s also Bitadze, whom Wendell Carter Jr. last Sunday called “one of a kind” thanks to his intensity and attention to detail on the court.

The Magic are 2-8 in their last 10 games without Suggs, but 0-5 in their last five without him and Bitadze available.

In that 10-game stretch, Orlando owns the worst offensive rating (100.3) and the Magic have averaged a league-low 95.3 points while shooting 27.5% from beyond the arc. The Magic were the only team that shot under-30% from distance in that span.

“We’re not playing our best basketball; we’re not shooting our best basketball. But we haven’t really been shooting as well as we wanted to for the whole year,” Joseph said. “We’ve got to find other ways.”

And Joseph is right.

Even when the group went 13-2 in 15 games from Nov. 8 to Dec. 4, the Magic still shot 31.7% from 3-point range, which was third-worst in the NBA. During that span their offensive rating (113.9) was 10th-best, but their 109.1 points on average were still in the bottom third of the league.

So what’s changed?

In the past 10 games, Orlando has strayed from its defensive identity.

During that successful stretch in November to early December, the Magic’s defensive rating (103.1) led the league, as did their plus-10.8 net rating. Orlando held teams to 44.9% shooting from the field (6th lowest opposing field goal percentage) and limited opponents to 99.1 points, which also topped the league.

The Magic were the lone team in that span to hold opponents to under 100 points on a nightly basis.

The last 10 games — without Suggs, an All-Defensive selection a year ago, and Bitadze (who’s 59 total blocks are tied for seventh in the NBA) — tell a different story.

Orlando’s defensive rating (113.4) has dropped to 17th in the NBA.

Although that defensive mark is still around the middle of the pack, the Magic need it to be in the upper echelon of the league in order to find success and overcome their below-average offensive numbers.

When adding their recent defensive woes (opponents have shot 49.7% against the Magic in the past 10 games, which was the second-best opposing FG percentage) to their offensive struggles (Orlando shot a league-low 40.2% from the field in that same stretch), it all leads to a minus-13.1 net rating, which was 28th behind only 6-win Washington and 14-win Brooklyn the last 10 contests.

It’s what happens when a team is missing multiple starters and key rotational pieces over a stretch of time and fatigue begins to catch up while others returning to the court are still finding their footing.

“The problem is even if we lose a certain way, we’ve got to play within the full 48 minutes,” Joseph said. “For whatever reason, right now, there’s moments, but then there’s bigger moments where we’re not doing what we need to do in order to come out with the win.”

A veteran who understands what it takes to win an NBA championship, Joseph (a 2014 champ with San Antonio) is making sure to talk with his teammates often to tell them to keep their heads high amid the 5-game skid.

“We’re not playing our best basketball right now but that’s when you focus on the fine details within the details to pull each other out and be there for your brother,” he said. “If we focus more on that, which we will, we’ll see it start to turn.

“We’re at a point of the season now that it’s time to kind of step it up and do that. We can’t always keep saying it’s a long season.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic vs. Pistons

When: 7, Saturday, Kia Center

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida

The upcoming 2025 football season will be a year full of rivalries for the Hurricanes.

After opening the season with a home game against Notre Dame on Aug. 31 and facing rival Florida for the second season in a row in September, the Hurricanes will open ACC play with their biggest rival: Florida State.

Miami will begin its conference schedule against FSU in Tallahassee on Oct. 4, the ACC announced Friday.

After losing to the Seminoles three times in a row, the Hurricanes beat FSU 36-14 at Hard Rock Stadium last season. Miami ended the year 10-3 with a bowl game loss, while Florida State went 2-10, its worst record since 1974.

The Hurricanes lead the all-time series 36-33.

The rest of Miami’s 2025 schedule will be announced in a two-hour schedule reveal show on ESPN2 and ACC Network from 9 to 11 p.m. on Monday.

UM also plays Louisville, N.C. State, Stanford, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, SMU and Virginia Tech in conference play next season.

GAINESVILLE — Florida guard Will Richard’s game-winner at South Carolina was a long time coming.

The 22-year-old had to go back to at least middle school to recall his last one.

“It’s been a minute,” he said Friday. “I can’t remember the last game-winner, to be honest.”

Richard’s driving left-handed shot high off the backboard completed a second-half comeback to keep No. 5 UF (17-2, 4-2 SEC) on track entering Saturday’s visit from former coach Mike White’s Georgia rock-solid squad (14-5, 2-4).

“It was an NBA play,” Golden gushed two days later. “It was a ridiculous finish, and he made us look like a very good coaching staff down the stretch Wednesday night.”

The effort also thrust Richard into the spotlight and out of the shadows from backcourt mates Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin, UF’s top two scorers and clutch performers.

Richard has had his share of moments since he transferred from Belmont in 2022 to join incoming coach Golden, but none was bigger than his clutch basket at South Carolina.

The play culminated a second-half surge spearheaded by Richard as UF erased a 14-point deficit during the final 12 minutes.

“I couldn’t believe how many winning plays he made during that stretch,” Golden said. “It seemed like every time something went our way. He was a part of it.

“He just refused to let us lose.”

The 6-foot-5, 206-pound senior spearheaded the Gators’ pressure defense, which flustered the Gamecocks and yielded 13 steals by Florida — three by Richard, whose team-leading 39 are two below his career-high in 33 games as a Belmont freshman.

As Richard explored his professional options after the 2023-24 season, he was told during workouts with several NBA teams to shore up his defense to round out a game built on 3-point shooting and strong rebounding from his position.

“It’s definitely something I keyed in a lot on as just being on the scout, being in the right position,” Richard said. “It’s definitely helped me a lot to get steals, get deflections and take my defensive game to another level.”

Golden’s Gators have reached another level under Richard, Clayton and Martin, a trio averaging 47.4 points, 13.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 4.9 steals.

“We don’t care who gets the credit, who gets to shine,” Richard said. “As long we’re winning games, we’re fine with that.”

The Gators are 17-2 for the first time since the 2013-14 Final Four squad and hold their highest ranking since December 2017 under White, whose Bulldogs are progressing in his third season.

White is 0-2 with Georgia in Gainesville, including a wild 102-98 overtime loss in 2024.

“Coming back, I assume, is probably a little strange,” Golden said. “But at the same time, life goes on, and he’s doing a great job at Georgia. He’s going to try to knock us out.”

It will be a big ask at the O’Connell Center, where UF is 9-1 and winning by an average of 29 points, and against a Florida squad featuring talented, determined veterans like Richard.

Four possessions prior to the game-winning shot, Richard missed an easy layup, also using his left hand. The memory had faded by the time the Gators needed him most.

“Quick memory,” he said. “You’re trying to win a game and, so just trying to stay aggressive — no matter what the circumstances.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Georgia at No. 5 Florida

When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m., O’Connell Center

TV: SEC Network

The start of the 2026 Major League Soccer season is less than a month away, and Orlando City is hard at work preparing for a hopeful title challenge.

The Lions face off against Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro on Saturday in a preseason friendly as a part of the annual FC Series. The winner of the match will be awarded the inaugural Inter&Co Trophy, which will be contested annually at Inter&Co Stadium.

Orlando City sends Facundo Torres to Brazil via transfer

“It is a great opportunity to have a match in this moment against a big club from Brazil and have the opportunity as well to give the first step in our preseason,” coach Oscar Pareja said. “We know it’s going to be hard, as last year [was], it’s going to be an honor for us.”

These sides have never faced off, but Orlando City is no stranger to playing against Brazilian teams. It drew against powerhouse CR Flamengo 1-1 a year ago in a thrilling match in front of a packed crowd.

For the Lions, the result of this match is not as important as building cohesion and fitness. They will be looking to improve on the little thing.

Orlando City was eliminated in the Eastern Conference final by the New York Red Bulls and missed several clear chances to score. There’s room to get better offensively.

“I’m pretty confident 2025 will be our year,” said defender Rafael Santos. “We’ve gotten close twice, getting to the conference finals last year and falling a little bit short the year before. But I think we shouldn’t change who we are, and then this is our year.”

Part of that improvement will depend on how well they can replace talisman forward Facundo Torres. The club’s all-time leading goalscorer left for Palmeiras in the offseason, leaving a drastic hole in the attack.

Nicolás Rodríguez, 20, was brought in from Columbia to help fill that void, but he is unavailable as he complets the visa process. Returning forwards Ramiro Enrique and Desginated Player Luis Muriel will be expected to step up in the meantime to show they are capable of carrying the load offensively.

The Lions won’t be expected to be firing on all cylinders against Atlético Mineiro, but a good performance will be the first step in showing that their attacking line can overcome the loss of such an important player.

UCF head coach Scott Frost has finalized his coaching staff by hiring Mark D’Onofrio as the Knights’ new linebackers coach.

D’Onofrio, 55, most recently served as the inside linebackers coach at Stanford for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

“I’m thrilled to join Scott Frost’s staff at UCF,” D’Onofrio said in a statement. “It’s an incredible opportunity to be part of a program with a strong vision and commitment to excellence. I’m deeply grateful to Coach Frost and Alex Grinch for trusting me with this responsibility, and I can’t wait to get to work!”

Prior to his time at Stanford, D’Onofrio coached linebackers at Wisconsin in 2022 and held the position of defensive coordinator at Temple from 2006 to 2010, Miami from 2011 to 2015, and Houston from 2017 to 2018. Additionally, he worked as an assistant coach at Rutgers from 2001 to 2003 and at Virginia from 2004 to 2005.

D’Onofrio played linebacker at Penn State and was later drafted by the Green Bay Packers.

He has already impacted recruiting, helping to secure a commitment from fellow New Jersey native Cole Kozlowski from Spring Lake.

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com