The Avalanche shocked the hockey world by trading Mikko Rantanen. But don't fret, Avs fans -- Colorado still has superstars other teams would move heaven and earth to acquire.

Colorado Avalanche's final contract offer to Mikko Rantanen before trading him to the Carolina Hurricanes was leaked by the renowned insider Elliotte Friedman.

Chris MacFarland pointed to Rantanen’s pending free agency and the club’s desire to get deeper after three years of being short in that department as reasons for the trade. The NHL’s salary cap ceiling, which is set at $88 million this year but is expected to rise — possibly significantly — in the next couple of seasons is also a factor.

Rantanen and Cale Makar, who’s got a $9 million-per-year cap hit through the 2026-27 campaign, don’t have to be an either/or proposition if the former’s payments get deferred. With Mikko camped out to his right midway through the second stanza ...

Despite trading one of the NHL's scoring leaders and a franchise stalwart, MacFarland says the Avalanche are still "all-in."

NHL analysts Frankie Corrado and Carlo Colaiacovo weighed in on the ongoing debate between Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar as the top defenseman in the league.

Makar scored again to give Colorado a 3-2 lead at 14:36 of the period with the Avs on the power play. Necas reversed the puck from the right side of the ice to the left, then MacKinnon set up Makar at the top of the zone for his 18th goal of the season.

The trade that saw the superstar dealt to Carolina sent shockwaves through the league and up and down the Colorado franchise.

Martin Necas had two assists, nearly scored twice himself and excelled on the top line. Jack Drury scored a goal and centered a new-look depth line while all 12 Avs forwards played more than 10 minutes, a departure from the usual top-heavy distribution.

Rantanen produced an assist and four shots on goal in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets.

Rantanen can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He was available because the Avalanche couldn’t sign him to a long-term contract. Tulsky said the Hurricanes wanted to acquire Rantanen as long as possible before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7 and have had only preliminary discussions with his camp.

Despite being a fan favorite and a key part of the Avalanche's recent success, the salary-cap reality forced their hand.