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."

Mikko Rantanen skated to center ice at UBS Arena and a familiar sound emanated from his teammates near the bench. “Moooose.” Rantanen scooped up the puck on his stick, smoothly moved toward the goaltender and then snapped a shot off the crossbar and into the net.

After the shocking blockbuster deal that shipped Mikko Rantanen out of Colorado, he broke silence on his view.

Speaking to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh on Monday, Rantanen shared his thoughts on the trade, his contract talks with the Avalanche and his new chapter in Carolina. Most interestingly, Rantanen confirmed that he was "ready to take a significant discount" to stay in Colorado, as initially reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

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

Rantanen has been an essential member of the Avalanche's core since arriving in 2015-16, having won the Stanley Cup in 2021-22. Widely regarded as one of the NHL's premier offensive talents, he stands among the league's top five scorers over the last five seasons.

Rantanen can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He was available because the Avalanche couldn’t sign him to a long-term contract. Tulsky said the Hurricanes wanted to acquire Rantanen as long as possible before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7 and have had only preliminary discussions with his camp.

The Colorado Avalanche has traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in one of the most stunning transactions in franchise history.