Avs GM Chris MacFarland speaks on shocking Rantanen trade
Jan 25, 2025, 11:15 AM
Colorado Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland met the media on Saturday in Boston before the Avs faced the Bruins.
The press conference was about the stunning Mikko Rantanen trade that went down on Friday night. MacFarland moved the superstar Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury.
It was clear Colorado felt like they weren’t going to get a contract extension done with Rantanen before he became a free agent this summer, so rather than let him walk for nothing, a trade was made.
The Avalanche streamed MacFarland’s full comments.
Live with GM Chris MacFarland following yesterday’s trade news. https://t.co/ktyxI3iodK
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 25, 2025
“It’s a bittersweet day, right? Mikko is a decorated player for us. He’s an elite winger in this league, so it was a tough few days. But we just felt the timing was right and the last few days it kind of came together. We decided to act yesterday, but it wasn’t without a lot of serious thought, I can assure you that,” MacFarland said.
MacFarland called it “a tough business decision” and said with the pieces the Avs got back “it made sense to strike now.”
Rantanen reportedly wanted $14 million a year in a contract extension, with Colorado feeling more comfortable giving him $12.5 million a season, slightly less than what superstar Nathan MacKinnon is making. That difference in money essentially caused the divorce.
Necas and Drury are due to make a little more than $8 million combined next year, so the Avalanche suddenly have some salary cap flexibility. MacFarland was asked if another trade is coming, something fans are certainly curious about.
“I think we’re always sort of looking to get better, certainly over the next few weeks that won’t change,” MacFarland said. “It’s not easy to make trades in this league as you guys know, but we’ll continue to look. And if something makes sense then we’ll certainly strike.”
As for trading a star like Rantanen during the season, it’s rare. He’s coming off back-to-back 100 point seasons and is trending that way this year as well. MacFarland commented on why he felt it had to be done.
“Look, these are tough decisions. There’s nothing done in a vacuum. Mikko earned the right to be an unrestricted free agent and he’s five months away from that. So, you gotta make these hard decisions. The player has to make them and the club has to make them and that’s what we did,” MacFarland said.
It certainly couldn’t have been easy, but this was a huge decision for Chris MacFarland. How the Avalanche play the rest of this year and beyond without Rantanen is ultimately how the GM will be judged down the road.
