Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon drops 'shocked' reaction to Mikko Rantanen trade
01/25/2025 06:52 PM
The surprising trade that saw the Colorado Avalanche trade star winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes has been met with shock and some level of despair within the Avs’ locker room. Rantanen has twice broken the 100-point mark during his 10 seasons in Colorado, and he has teamed with Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar to give the Avs one of the best attacks in the NHL.
"Upset about the loss but bigger picture obviously losing Mikko, really great friend.. it's just sad"
MacKinnon talks about Mikko being traded #GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/rolgrEjNF8
— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) January 25, 2025
The trade saw the Avalanche receive rising star Martin Necas and Jack Drury from the Hurricanes along with a 2025 second-round draft choice and a 2026 third-round selection. Carolina also added Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks, while Chicago received a 2025 third-round draft pick.
The Avs played their first game without Rantanen less than 24 hours after the Friday night trade. They dropped a 3-1 decision to the Bruins in Boston, and MacKinnon spoke about the trade after the game. He was clearly very emotional about seeing Rantanen leave the team.
“Just sad,” said MacKinnon. “Really great friend, we played 9-10 years together, won a cup, it’s just sad. I don’t know exactly what happened. I called Mikko pretty shortly after and we talked close to 20 minutes. It’s just unfortunate losing a great friend [and] great teammate, I’m gonna miss him.”
Rantanen will be a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season
Rantanen is due for a new contract at the conclusion of the season, and while there had been discussions with the Avalanche about a new contract prior to the trade, there had been no agreement.
Instead of continuing to talk until the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline, Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland decided to make the move quickly. While the shock in the Avs’ locker room was palpable — MacKinnon said a number of his teammates were also upset by the move — Necas could be a solid fit for Colorado as the days and weeks go by.
Necas and Drury made it to Boston for the Saturday afternoon game and while neither player made it on to the score sheet, Necas did have two shots on goal. He was Carolina’s leading scorer this season with 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points.
Rantanen was the Avs’ second-leading scorer this season behind MacKinnon. He had put the puck in the net a team-leading 25 times and he had added 39 assists for Colorado. MacKinnon has scored 75 points for head coach Jared Bednar’s team.
Rantanen also had demonstrated that he was a dynamic playoff performer. He scored 5 goals and added 20 assists in 2022 when Colorado won the Stanley Cup. He has 34 goals and 65 assists for 99 points in 81 career playoff games.
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