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.

Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon couldn't hide his frustration when addressing the huge three-team trade involving historic teammate Mikko Rantanen.

The Avalanche made one of the biggest trades in Colorado sports history last week when it sent away star forward Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes in a deal that included the Blackhawks. In return, the Avs received forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, plus a pair of draft picks (2025 second-rounder and 2026 fourth-rounder).

Is it time to bet on the Hurricanes as Stanley Cup champions? What can MacKinnon do without Rantanen? Who will start in net for Sweden and Canada?All that and more.

The Colorado Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland has a message about that.

Rantanen said he thought talks with the Avs had been productive before the shocking trade to the Canes: "I didn’t know we were in a rush."

Colorado Avalanche’ alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon offered high praise for newcomer Martin Necas after the blockbuster trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Despite trading one of the NHL's scoring leaders and a franchise stalwart, MacFarland says the Avalanche are still "all-in."

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.

Nathan MacKinnon wasn’t exactly impressed when he found out his linemate and close friend had been traded. The 29-year-old from Cole Harbour reacted to Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen’s trade to the Carolina Hurricanes on the weekend and he didn’t have a whole lot of positives to offer.

The word “blockbuster” gets thrown around a little too often in today’s NHL, often for trades unworthy of the term, in the same way that anything might feel like a five-star meal to a starving man. But the deal that dropped on Friday night? That one deserves the title, no questions asked.