The NHL world is still buzzing about Friday's blockbuster trade that sent Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal brokered by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nathan MacKinnon wasn’t exactly impressed when he found out his linemate and close friend had been traded. The 29-year-old from Cole Harbour reacted to Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen’s trade to the Carolina Hurricanes on the weekend and he didn’t have a whole lot of positives to offer.

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.

The word “blockbuster” gets thrown around a little too often in today’s NHL, often for trades unworthy of the term, in the same way that anything might feel like a five-star meal to a starving man. But the deal that dropped on Friday night? That one deserves the title, no questions asked.

The hockey world is still in a daze following the late Friday night trade that sent Avalanche superstar Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. General manager Chris MacFarland addressed the media early Saturday before a matinee matchup against Boston.

Mikko Rantanen does not believe he priced himself out of the future plans of the Colorado Avalanche. Speaking with Finnish media Sunday, Rantanen said, “Discussions about an extension with the club were open.

The Colorado Avalanche were at an impasse with Mikko Rantanen in terms of getting a contract done. There were talks at the beginning of the season as the unrestricted free agent was eligible to sign a new contract on July 1st,

Colorado Avalanche captain Nathan MacKinnon spoke candidly about his feelings following the blockbuster trade that sent his longtime teammate Mikko Rantanen away from the only franchise he'd ever played for.

The surprising trade that saw the Colorado Avalanche trade star winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes has been met with shock and some level of despair within the Avs’ locker room. Rantanen has twice broken the 100-point mark during his 10 seasons in Colorado,

Trading Moose is fan abuse. Surely, they’re not done. Right? Shipping out Mikko Rantanen has to be the beginning of a mid-season makeover — not the Finn-ishing piece. Surely, somebody’s coming. Somebody big.

Where does the NHL's biggest in-season trade in decades leave the Canes, Avs and Blackhawks ... and the Canucks and Rangers? Let's dig in.