Facing the prospect of Colorado's star winger Mikko Rantanen becoming an unrestricted free agent after the season, general manager Chris MacFarland felt the timing was right to deal him and bolster the Avalanche's roster for the future.
"I think it was just a tough business decision here for us," MacFarland said Saturday before the Avalanche lost 3-1 to the Boston Bruins. "I felt that the pieces we got made sense to strike now."
Colorado traded Rantanen in a three-team deal to the Carolina Hurricanes a night earlier, acquiring forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury as well as a second-round pick in this year's draft and a fourth-rounder in 2026.
Carolina also got forward Taylor Hall from Chicago in the trade.
Drafted No. 10 in 2015 by Colorado, the 28-year-old Rantanen, a two-time 100-point scorer who had a team-record 55 goals in 2022-23, was in line to become an unrestricted free agent after he and the organization couldn't agree on a new deal entering this season.
He had 25 goals and 39 assists when he was traded and leaves Colorado with 287 career goals in his ninth full season. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2022.
The Avalanche and Hurricanes had been discussing Rantanen since last summer. Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky said the past six to eight weeks saw them table "serious offers" for the winger, with the Hurricanes pushing hard to complete the trade in the past two weeks.
Trading a superstar is never easy, and MacFarland certainly had some anxious moments.
"It hurts, right. He's a homegrown talent. He's a superstar person. He's a superstar human being," he said. "I think that's sports, right. We're going to talk about it; people are going to talk about it. Your heart strings get tugged. That's why we all do this.
"I'd be lying, I'm like that. He's that good of a hockey player. ... He had the UFA card, and we felt this is what we had to do."
Rantanen was seeking a contract in the neighborhood of the eight-year extension Leon Draisaitl signed with the Edmonton Oilers in September. That deal carries an average annual value of $14 million. Both Rantanen and Draisaitl are represented by agent Andy Scott.
Now, Colorado faces the immediate future trying to remain a Stanley Cup contender along with planning for the future.
"You lose a superstar, and we're going to have to try and replace him in the aggregate; 50-goal scorers don't grow on trees," MacFarland said. "You have to usually draft and develop them. Mikko was a home run for us for many, many years."
And his former star player will now try to help Carolina win its first Cup since 2006.
"You feel that you do what's best for the logo and best for the team," MacFarland said.
MacFarland said it was important to have Necas, a speedy forward who led the Hurricanes in scoring this season, and Drury, an "emerging player" down the lineup, under contract and "cost-controlled" beyond this season. He said the trade would allow the Avalanche to potentially make more moves before the March 7 deadline.
"I think we're always sort of looking to get better. Certainly, over the next few weeks that won't change. I think obviously there are a little more bullets in the draft-pick cupboard and some cap space," he said.
In the end, retaining Rantanen for the contract he was seeking would have had too many repercussions for the Avalanche, who will have to re-sign star defenseman Cale Makar in 2027. Though the salary cap is rising in the NHL, MacFarland said the team needs all the flexibility it can muster.
"The cap is going to go up, but you still have to have your internal outlooks. It's clear we are not deep enough. I think that you've got to be deep to go four rounds, and hopefully this is going to help that," MacFarland said. "Obviously Mikko is a superstar. You can't replace that. But he's a superstar that earned the right to be a free agent."
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski and The Associated Press contributed to this report.