A stunned Nathan MacKinnon tried to make sense of the Colorado Avalanche trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.

Rantanen has been an essential member of the Avalanche's core since arriving in 2015-16, having won the Stanley Cup in 2021-22. Widely regarded as one of the NHL's premier offensive talents, he stands among the league's top five scorers over the last five seasons.

Colorado Avalanche captain Nathan MacKinnon spoke candidly about his feelings following the blockbuster trade that sent his longtime teammate Mikko Rantanen away from the only franchise he'd ever played for. "It's unfortunate," MacKinnon said, per DNVR Avalanche. “Losing a great friend, great teammate. I’m gonna miss him.

Trading Moose is fan abuse. Surely, they’re not done. Right? Shipping out Mikko Rantanen has to be the beginning of a mid-season makeover — not the Finn-ishing piece. Surely, somebody’s coming. Somebody big.

After that game, Avalanche players finally had a chance to publicly react to the trade, and the team's best player, Nathan MacKinnon, had one of the stronger reactions. MacKinnon called the ...

Ridly Greig opened the scoring for Ottawa with a short-handed goal with 7:44 left in the second period. Clayton Keller tied it 1:36 later. Karel Vejmelka stopped 24 shots for Utah, which closed a three-game trip with its second straight loss.

Makar gained possession, started a 3-on-1 and made a pass from the right circle to Lehkonen, who lifted the puck over Igor Shesterkin. Newcomer Jack Drury and Juuso Parssinen also scored for the Avs, while Nathan MacKinnon and new acquisition Martin Necas set up both Makar goals.

DENVER — Trading Moose is fan abuse. Surely, they’re not done. Right? Shipping out Mikko Rantanen has to be the beginning of a mid-season makeover — not the Finn-ishing piece. Surely, somebody’s coming.

Artturi Lehkonen scored the tiebreaking goal with 14.7 seconds left and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New York Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.

The Edmonton Oilers got a front-row seat to the 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche. They dropped two of three regular season games and got absolutely bowled over by them in the Western Conference Finals that year,

NHL trade deadline is over a month away, with plenty of time for big moves, yet we’ve already seen a splash that can’t be topped. The Colorado Avalanche traded superstar winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas in a move that will have massive ramifications this season and for years to come.

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