Just days after being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a surprising midseason move, top star spoke out about the events behind the trade and his shock at the Colorado Avalanche’s decision. In an interview with The Athletic’s Peter Baugh on Monday, Rantanen opened up about his trade, contract discussions with the Avalanche, and his new chapter in Carolina.
Notably, he confirmed he was “ready to take a significant discount” to remain with Colorado, as first reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. “I was ready to take a significant discount from my market value,” Rantanen said. “We had some chats a couple days before and then they traded me. That’s what happened. That’s why I didn’t expect it.”
The Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, acquiring Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and draft picks in return. Colorado immediately faced a setback, losing to the Bruins in their first game without Rantanen.
Rantanen revealed that he “had a sniff that something might be happening” when Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland called him while he was at a hotel in Boston. “I only had a sniff because he called me, not before that,” Rantanen explained. “I had no idea. It’s surprising, for sure.”
With Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million cap hit and Cale Makar’s upcoming contract extension, the Avalanche faced difficult financial choices. Ultimately, they opted to trade Rantanen ahead of the deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing in the following July. MacFarland shared his reasoning before the 3-1 loss to the Bruins: “You feel that you do what’s best for the logo and best for the team. It hurts, but you’ve got to make these hard decisions.”
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