BOSTON — Facing the prospect of Colorado‘s star winger Mikko Rantanen becoming an unrestricted free agent after this season, general manager Chris MacFarland felt the timing was right to deal him away and bolster 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 faced 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 a night earlier, acquiring forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, as well as a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a fourth-rounder in 2026.
Carolina also got forward Taylor Hall from Chicago in the trade.
Drafted 10th overall in 2015 by Colorado, the 28-year-old Rantanen, a two-time 100-point scorer who had an Avs’ record 55 goals in 2022-23, was in line to become an unrestricted free agent after he and the organization couldn’t agree on a new deal entering this year.
He had 25 goals and 39 assists when he was traded, and leaves Colorado with 287 career goals in his ninth full season. He helped them win the Cup in 2022.
Trading a superstar is never easy, and MacFarland certainly had some anxious moments.
“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 faces the immediate future trying to remain a Stanley Cup contender along with 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.”
And his former star player will now try and help Carolina win its first Cup since 2006.
“You feel that you do what’s best for the logo and best for the team,” MacFarland said.