Avalanche Star Nathan MacKinnon Reacts To Shocking Trade Of Teammate Mikko Rantanen

The NHL is still buzzing after Friday's three-team blockbuster deal that sent Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas to the Colorado Avalanche among a bunch of other pieces and moving parts of a complex trade.

While Rantanen was in the final year of his deal, the decision to trade him well before the trade deadline (although the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off coming up in a couple of weeks had the potential to fuel some moves) caught everyone including him and his Colorado teammates off-guard.

Longtime teammate Nathan MacKinon talked about the trade on Saturday and still seemed to be in a state of shock.

"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 said he called Rantanen after the deal was finalized and they talked for about 20 minutes.

"I never thought in a million years he would leave. So yeah, it just sucks," MacKinnon said.

He said he also spoke to fellow team leaders defenseman Cale Makar and captain Gabriel Landeskog who has been out with injury since the team hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2022. 

"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. "He's been here from the dog days in ‘16-17 all the way up to now," MacKinnon said, alluding to the franchise’s abysmal 2016-17 season that was one of the worst in the post-expansion era. 

"He's helped grow this organization into a Stanley Cup winner and obviously a contender every single season. He's a big reason why."

The NHL is a tough business and as Avs GM Chris MacFarland said the deal was a business decision, and as tough as it may be, all parties have to move on whether they like it or not.

And that's just what Rantanen is doing, as he'll be in the Hurricanes lineup on Saturday against the New York Islanders.