The Avalanche played their first game in the post-Mikko Rantanen era. How did they do? Also, Jared Bednar and Nathan MacKinnon were open and honest about their thoughts on the trade. So was another former teammate,

Following a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday, the first game without Rantanen, Avs superstar Nathan MacKinnon sat down in the locker room with reporters and reminisced on his old friend and former teammate.

The trade that saw the superstar dealt to Carolina sent shockwaves through the league and up and down the Colorado franchise.

Jared Bednar has been known to rely heavily ... Two, the Avalanche's big trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to Carolina Friday brought in additional depth. Martin Necas has stepped in and fit in ...

As much as the Colorado Avalanche would've liked to cap off this whirlwind of a road trip on a positive note, they failed to do so. The team, which looks a little different having replaced Mikko Rantanen with Martin Necas and Jack Drury,

Former Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen took to Instagram to share his gratitude to the franchise after being traded to the Hurricanes.

After the trade happened, MacKinnon said he spoke to Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog, who is on the trip, as leaders of the team. They weren't the only players on the team shocked, as a night where a lot of the team was planning on going to bed early changed on a dime.

Mikko Rantanen is now with the Carolina Hurricanes, something he did not envision happening. He was discussing a contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche before the surprise move. He admitted he was willing to take less than his market value to stay. Via Athlon Sports, the winger said:

The trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes surprised many people, including the player himself.

The Colorado Avalanche looks like the better team for the better part of the first 40 minutes and then the final period is a problem. Colorado had all kinds of chances in the first two periods Tuesday night at UBS Arena,

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Simon Holmstrom had two goals and an assist for the New York Islanders, who won their fifth straight game with a 5-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche at UBS Arena on Tuesday.