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While the hockey world was shocked by the blockbuster trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, his former Colorado Avalanche teammates were left just as floored.
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.
“Just sad, obviously. I wish I could’ve talked to him,” MacKinnon said. “Just bigger picture, I mean losing Mikko, great friend, nine years, 10 years together. Won a cup obviously. It’s just sad.”
MacKinnon added that he gave Rantanen a call after the move happened and spoke to his former teammate for 20 minutes.
He told reporters that he expected his deal to get done in a similar fashion to captain Gabriel Landeskog’s in 2021, when the Avalanche put pen to paper on an eight-year, $56 million extension “at the last hour.”
“I never thought in a million years he would leave. So yeah, it just sucks,” MacKinnon said.
Perhaps still dealing with the shock, the Avalanche struggled to adjust in their first game without their superstar, inserting acquisition Martin Necas into the top-line right-wing spot where Rantanen used to play. The former Hurricane finished with a minus-3 rating and was held to only two shots on goal.
It’s hard to blame Necas, as he apparently flew in to meet the team in Boston at 6 a.m. earlier on Saturday and was immediately inserted into the top line without a chance to develop chemistry with MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who he called “two of the best players in the world.”
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Rantanen has put up 25 goals and 39 assists through his 49 appearances this season. He led Colorado in scoring — including a team-best five game-winning goals — while ranking second in assists, second in points and fourth in total ice time.
Past just Rantanen’s production and chemistry on the ice, it was apparent that Rantanen’s departure left some big shoes to fill off the ice as well.
“A lot of the guys are just shocked. It’s pretty crazy someone like that can get traded right now. He’s a big part of our team, our culture,” MacKinnon said when asked about how the Avalanche’s leadership group has dealt with the immediate repercussions of the move. “He’s been here from the dog days in ’16-17 all the way up to now. He’s helped grow this organization into a Stanley Cup winner and obviously a contender every single season. He’s a big reason why.
“That’s just one part of it. Mostly, we spend time together off the ice so that’s probably the part we’ll miss most. He’s goofy, just a great teammate, great person.”
It was a bombshell move by the Avalanche, who apparently wished to move off the impending unrestricted free agent and cash in while they could instead of losing him for nothing in the off-season had they not wanted to meet his contract demands.
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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Colorado was unwilling to go into the $14 million range on Rantanen’s next contract, a deal that would push him over MacKinnon’s $12.6 million.
But the reigning Hart Trophy winner made it clear that he would have no problem making less money than his high-scoring winger.
“Anyone who really knows me knows I really don’t care about money. It’s the last thing on my mind,” MacKinnon said. “You have to talk to Joe [Sakic] and C-Mac [Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland], I mean, I want guys to get paid, I think he’s earned it, Mikko’s earned a big payday, scored 50, 100 points every season.
“So, like I said, I don’t know exactly what happened. I’ll have to talk to Chris and Joe and Mikko … I just know I’m gonna miss him. He’s such a great person so it’s gonna be tough.”
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar also reflected on the loss of Rantanen after the loss, reconciling with the fact that hockey is a business and a game like the one against Boston, so soon after the great rift, is a harsh test.
“Tough day, really tough day. You lose a good friend, good teammate, great player, it’s hard. I understand the business side of things,” Bednar said. “It’s a two-way street, weren’t able to get a deal done. Teams are calling, you gotta do business, you know? Gotta get what you can and I think we got some good players who can come in and help us, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
“It’s tough to see Mikko go for sure.”
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