Aarif Deen
The Avalanche woke up Sunday morning with their season already over in the first round. They woke up after losing yet another Game 7 to the Dallas Stars in a game where they led 2-0 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
They woke up knowing that Mikko Rantanen, the guy they traded away exactly 100 days ago, had a historic third period and scored a hat trick to sink them. The same Rantanen who scored their only goal in the 2-1 loss that eliminated them last year. The same Rantanen that had the only goal in their last Game 7 loss, a 2-1 final against the Seattle Kraken in 2023.
The same Rantanen, the superstar winger, whom they traded away against his will. Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland gambled when he shipped him off to Carolina without warning. He chose the element of surprise, not letting Rantanen or his core know this was coming, rather than negotiating a deal to trade him somewhere where he’d lock in a contract upon arrival.
Rather than coming to terms on a contract extension that works for both sides.
He didn’t want Rantanen to know he was on his way out the door. And in return, Rantanen chose not to stick with the Hurricanes. And Carolina did what MacFarland should’ve done if he absolutely had to go — they helped the 28-year-old star pick his next team, and sent him there contingent on an extension be signed upon arrival.
Read More: Mikko Rantanen Gets Last Laugh — Avalanche Blow It in Game 7
It just so happens that team was the Dallas Stars — the team that eliminated Colorado last year.
The team that was on a collision course for a first-round matchup against the Avs.
The division rival that’s likely going to stand in the way of any opportunity the Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar era Avalanche have of winning another Stanley Cup.
Now that team has Rantanen. And they have him for eight more years after this one. Before that contract extension even kicked in, Rantanen already got the last laugh. He scored five goals, added seven assists, and eliminated the team MacFarland built.
The team MacFarland completely remade over the course of a regular season. One that saw several draft picks, high prospects, and roster players sent out the door for an opportunity to go all in for a second Stanley Cup.
MacFarland gambled. MacFarland lost. Now, MacFarland should pay for it with his job.
Joe Sakic should cut ties with his general manager and step back in as GM. He was at the helm when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and should move back into that position. If he’s not cut out to do it long term, he can continue to groom Andrew Cogliano into a role that can be handed to him in a few years.
It’s the model that St. Louis has with Doug Armstrong and Alex Steen. And it’s what the Avs should do.
MacFarland is a smart hockey mind. But his smarts got the best of him. He tried way too hard to overthink how to handle the Rantanen situation, and it blew up in his face. Trading him, even with Rantanen involved in an eventual move, is a far better option than what he did. But trading Rantanen at all shouldn’t have happened.
Rantanen never wanted to leave. I believe, truly, that if Rantanen knew the $11.65 million AAV offer was the last he’d get from the Avs or he’d be moved, he would’ve signed it. Rantanen was operating with the thought that the negotiations would stretch into the spring or early summer. It’s traditionally what happens with superstars. Was it a gamble on his behalf? Yes. But it was a gamble that historically pays off for the league’s top players. The same can’t be said of the gamble MacFarland made.
He didn’t know he was going to be sent away that night. It was almost as if MacFarland wanted Rantanen to decline the offer so he could trade him. It shouldn’t have happened.
You don’t trade superstars in the NHL. It’s why Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have stayed together for this long. It’s why Chicago waited until the absolute last moment before moving on from Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, or Duncan Keith. It’s why the Edmonton Oilers continue to run it back with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl despite the complications of building around them.
You don’t trade superstars. MacFarland did, and the superstar ended up back in the Central Division with a team the Avs already struggle with, and will be there for the remainder of the prime years of his career.
I understand what MacFarland was trying to do at the time. I wrote that he should be rewarded with patience — that his track record should earn him trust to make his next moves. As the kids say, “Let Cmac Cook.” He brought in Ryan Lindgren, Charlie Coyle, Brock Nelson, and Erik Johnson. He moved on from the Casey Mittelstadt mistake. This was all after he remade the goaltending tandem. He cooked.
But in the end, the Rantanen deal is the one that sank the ship and eliminated the team. Even a miraculous Gabe Landeskog comeback couldn’t overcome this mistake. It’s the one that, no matter what the thought was at the time, has to cost him his job after the way the series against Dallas ended.
He traded Rantanen.
He traded him without ensuring that he’d remain in the Eastern Conference.
Rantanen got the last laugh and eliminated the Avs.
Make the move, Joe.