Transaction Rantanen: Nathan MacKinnon is sad, shocked, and disappointed

By trading Mikko Rantanen last night, the Avalanche took a big gamble. The club chose not to pay to extend the contract of one of the best forwards in the NHL, and importantly, a key engine of their offense.

They acquired Martin Necas in an attempt to recoup some value instead of losing Rantanen for nothing this summer, but still.

That said, even if it was the hockey decision to make (if they didn’t want to sign him, even if he was open to signing for less), the question was how all this would be received in the locker room…

And after the game today, in which Necas made his debut with the Avalanche (we’ll come back to that), MacKinnon briefly talked about the trade… and you can feel he is affected:

It’s a shocking trade. I never thought he would leave. So yeah, it just sucks. – Nathan MacKinnon

Nathan MacKinnon called the Mikko Rantanen trade “shocking.”

“I never thought in a million years he would leave. So yeah, it just sucks.”

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) January 25, 2025

We know that MacKinnon and Rantanen broke records together in Colorado. The two consistently filled the score sheet, and importantly, they won the Stanley Cup together in 2022.

We can understand the captain being disappointed to see his (now former) teammate leave for Carolina. He also mentioned that he was “sad” to lose “a teammate, but also a friend”.

Now we have to wonder what impact all this will have on the rest of the locker room. The Avalanche is in the midst of a playoff push, after all, and seeing a group leader like Rantanen being traded can demoralize the troops.

I’m not comparing the caliber of the two players here, but imagine if, in Montreal, the Canadiens traded Cole Caufield tomorrow morning because they didn’t want to pay him. It would be tough for the group.

What might help the Avalanche is that Necas fills the gap left by Rantanen in the lineup as best he can… and seeing him finish his first game in town with a -3 rating in a 3-1 loss to the Bruins is not exactly what the club hoped for.

And above all, Necas will need to get used to playing a lot of minutes. Spending 25 minutes on the ice was not something he did in Carolina.

Martin Necas played 25:08 in his debut with the #Avs, 2 shots, 5 missed shots, -3

Welcome to Jared Bednar’s Avs Martin – get ready to play a lot of minutes.

— Brennan Klak (@nhlupdate) January 25, 2025

I’m looking forward to seeing how the Avalanche responds over the next few weeks, but hearing the captain say today that he is disappointed about all this is still a strong message.

Jared Bednar will need to work hard to keep his locker room… because his bosses just presented him with a big management challenge.

In Brief

– Martin Necas in the Avalanche uniform looks like this.

A first look at Martin Necas donning the burgundy and blue!

( @NHL) pic.twitter.com/AbX71HN8MG

— BarDown (@BarDown) January 25, 2025

– Great read.

Months later, the Canadiens managed to overcome the departure of some veterans
An article by Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) https://t.co/1foeDITfXn

— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) January 25, 2025

– 11 goals in 11 games: David Pastrnak is on fire.

David Pastrnak has 11 goals in his last 11 games. #NHLBruins

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) January 25, 2025

– Wow!

Could the Leafs use some Toronto Sceptres fans???

Check out Scotiabank arena’s lower bowl for the PWHL’s Battle on Bay Street pic.twitter.com/FFUecPgn38

— BarDown (@BarDown) January 25, 2025

– This will be worth watching.

Seeing the Red Sox not offer him more than four years opens the door to other teams. https://t.co/qPkH3of9NK

— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) January 25, 2025

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