Colorado Avalanche GM Addresses The Shock Trade Of Mikko Rantanen
The Colorado Avalanche made an incredibly bold move on Friday night, and now Chris MacFarland has opened up on the shocking Mikko Rantanen deal.
On Friday night, we saw one of the biggest blockbusters in recent NHL memory, sending Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for future draft picks, Martin Necas and Jack Drury.
It was a move that nobody in the NHL saw coming, and while Rantanen has had his say on the deal, now Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland has opened up on the big move.
"It's a bittersweet day. Mikko is a decorated player for us, he is an elite winger in this league, it was a tough few days but we just felt the timing was right. The last few days it kind of came together and it wasn't without a lot of serious thought I can assure you that."
"It hurts, right? He's a homegrown talent, a superstar talent, a superstar human being. But that's sports. Your heartstrings get tugged. That's why we all do this."
It appears as though those in Colorado have nothing but the utmost respect for Rantanen and all that he did during his time with the Avalanche, but given that they didn't want to meet his $14 million AAV asking price on an extension, moving him now to get a solid return was the right thing to do.
Was this the best deal Colorado could get? We may never quite know, but in return for a pending free agent they landed two solid forwards with bright futures and some draft picks along with some cleared-up salary cap room, and if they can utilize that to add another weapon to this team, it no doubt will be a major win for the organization.
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