There was no talk of closing the ranks and keeping the three in the locker room, but there were strong feelings in Colorado.
– It is quite crazy that such a person is replaced. He has been a big part of our team, our culture. He was here during the dog years of 2016-17 until now. It has helped the club grow into a Stanley Cup winner and to be a contender every season, a big reason is because of him, says MacKinnon, who is usually listed when the world’s best players are discussed according to the AP.
Rantanen was part of a big swap deal with three clubs involved. Colorado got Martin Necas, who made a big success this year, and Jack Drury from Carolina. Chicago gives up Taylor Hall to Carolina and at the same time gets a pick in the third round in the summer draft and pays a large part of Rantanen’s salary of around 100 million kroner in Carolina.
“Not much sleep”
It was overwhelming for Rantanen, who already last night played for his new team Carolina, which lost to the NY Islanders 3-2 after the draw.
– After I found out yesterday, I didn’t get much sleep. Of course, a lot of emotions go through my head. It was ten years in Colorado, says Rantanen according to the NHL.
Rantanen was about to become a free agent and would have left for free in the summer if Colorado had not acted.
– A completely business decision, says Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland.
Rantanen won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. He is selected for Finland’s team in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.