With Colorado’s star winger Mikko Rantanen set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, general manager Chris MacFarland decided the time was right to trade him and strengthen the Avalanche’s roster for the future.
“I think it was just a tough business decision here for us,” MacFarland said Saturday before the Avalanche played the Boston Bruins. “I felt that the pieces we got made sense to strike now.”
Colorado traded Rantanen in a three-team deal to Carolina the night before, acquiring forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, along with a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a fourth-round pick in 2026. Carolina also received forward Taylor Hall from Chicago in the trade.
Rantanen, who was drafted 10th overall by Colorado in 2015, is 28 years old and a two-time 100-point scorer. He set a franchise record with 55 goals in 2022-23 and was in line to become an unrestricted free agent after failing to reach a new deal with the team this season.
When he was traded, he had 25 goals and 39 assists, leaving Colorado with 287 career goals in his ninth full season. He was part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Making the decision to trade a superstar was difficult for MacFarland.
“It hurts, right. He’s a home-grown talent. He’s a superstar person, he’s a superstar human being,” he said. “I think that’s sports, right. We’re going talk about it, people are going to talk about it. Your heart strings get tugged. That’s why we all do this. I’d be lying, I’m like that. He’s that good of a hockey player. … He had the UFA card and we felt this is what we had to do.”
Now, Colorado must focus on staying competitive as a Stanley Cup contender while planning for the future.
“You lose a superstar and we’re going to have to try and replace him in the aggregate – fifty-goal scorers don’t grow on trees,” MacFarland said. “You have to usually draft and develop them. Mikko was a home run for us for many, many years.”
Meanwhile, Rantanen will now look to help Carolina win its first Stanley Cup since 2006.
“You feel that you do what’s best for the logo and best for the team,” MacFarland said.
