Colorado Avalanche General Manager Breaks Silence and Reveals the Reason he Traded Mikko Rantanen
Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland broke his silence and revealed why he decided to trade Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Yesterday, the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, and Chicago Blackhawks made a massive trade involving key players Mikko Rantanen, Martin Necas, Taylor Hall, and multiple draft picks.
This move came as a surprise for many analysts, experts, fans, and players. Even Rantanen himself was caught off guard:
Today, ahead of the game between the Avalanche and the Bruins, the Avs' general manager Chris MacFarland opened up about his decision to trade Rantanen.
He talked about many things, including how the decision was a tough one to make:
"It's a bittersweet day. Mikko is a decorated player for us, he is an elite winger in this league, it was a tough few days but we just felt the timing was right. The last few days it kind of came together and it wasn't without a lot of serious thought I can assure you that."
"It hurts, right? He's a homegrown talent, a superstar talent, a superstar human being. But that's sports. Your heartstrings get tugged. That's why we all do this."
"It hurts, right? He's a homegrown talent, a superstar talent, a superstar human being. But that's sports. Your heartstrings get tugged. That's why we all do this."
But in the end, the Avs felt like their hands were tied due to Rantanen's upcoming free-agent status:
"He had the UFA card. We felt this is what we had to do."
"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. You've got to make these hard decisions. The player has to make them, the club has to make them, and that's what we did. Getting two cost-controlled assets was important."
"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. You've got to make these hard decisions. The player has to make them, the club has to make them, and that's what we did. Getting two cost-controlled assets was important."
He also talked about how it won't be easy to replace him, but he counts on his players to work harder to fill the void left by Rantanen in the lineup:
"We're going to have to try and replace him in the aggregate," he said. "Fifty-goal scorers don't grow on trees, you have to usually draft and develop them, and Mikko was a home run for us for many, many years ... we're going to miss him. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about that."
Only time will tell if that move was the right one to do. For MacFarland, such a deal could have a big impact on his career.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 25 | 957 ANSWERS Colorado Avalanche General Manager Breaks Silence and Reveals the Reason he Traded Mikko Rantanen Do you think the Colorado Avalanche made a mistake by trading Mikko Rantanen? | ||
| Yes | 559 | 58.4 % |
| No | 398 | 41.6 % |
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