Absolutely nobody saw the Mikko Rantanen trade coming last year.
Very rarely are the player himself and his agent shocked to learn of the news, but that was the case in this situation.
Rantanen had spent parts of nine seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, racking up massive numbers while being a key cog in their Stanley Cup-winning team. He was a part of the superstar trio with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar that very few around the league could match up with.
Everyone expected him to re-sign in Colorado, keeping the band together for years to come, which is what made it so shocking to hear that he was being traded to Carolina.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was just like all of us when it first happened, though he revealed on Friday that he was able to turn the page rather quickly. Guerilla Sports shared the clip with his interesting response on X (formerly Twitter).
“Whose wound? Once you play him in a playoff series, for me, it’s like you’re business-focused, and that’s it. You know, he’s gone; he’s gone. Like for me, it took me about 10 minutes, not that I don’t like Mikko, you know, but, like, I’m not dwelling on the past or any of that kind of stuff. You have to move forward and move forward quickly,” Bednar said.
🗣️Jared Bednar when asked how long it takes for the wound to heal from losing Mikko Rantanen:
“Took me about ten minutes. Not that I don’t like Mikko but I’m not dwelling in the past.” #GoAvsGo | @gs_off_ice pic.twitter.com/ByGT8taaeL
— Guerilla Sports (@guerillasports_) October 10, 2025
The 28-year-old Rantanen was then, of course, flipped to Dallas on trade deadline day, where he signed a massive eight-year, $96 million contract with the Stars.
Rantanen versus Colorado
If you’re wondering why this topic has re-emerged in recent days, that’s because Mikko Rantanen and the Dallas Stars are back in Colorado to take on the Avalanche on Saturday night.
It will be Rantanen’s second regular-season game against the Avs, but his ninth time overall squaring off with his former team, if you include last year’s first-round playoff series.
The superstar winger was dominant in that matchup, tallying five goals and seven assists for 12 points en route to a Stars win, eliminating the Avalanche. He will look to continue haunting his old squad as another chapter in this story will be written over the weekend.
