If the Avalanche had opened up a good old-fashioned bidding war on Mikko Rantanen, here are teams that would have been the best fit.

BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes face the New York Rangers in Metropolitan Division play on Tuesday. New York has a 6-7-0 record in Metropolitan Division games and a 24-21-4 record overall. The Rangers have scored and allowed 148 goals this season for an even scoring differential.

Carolina Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky is explaining his reasons for pushing for Mikko Rantanen, in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. Carolina engaged in a trade with the Avalanche, as well as Chicago on Friday. The end result is that Rantanen is now a Hurricane.

The Rangers are now the heavy favorites to acquire J.T. Miller after the Hurricanes traded for Mikko Rantanen.

Following the Rangers practice on Saturday, Peter Laviolette briefly talked about the blockbuster trade involving Mikko Rantanen.

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.

The NHL’s trade season is upon us, and the weather forecast is cloudy, with a chance of blockbuster deals. The Colorado Avalanche sent shockwaves through the NHL last weekend, facilitating a three-team trade to move superstar winger Mikko Rantanen.

The Colorado Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland has a message about that.

There’s around six weeks for the Rangers to alter their roster — with J.T. Miller still in Vancouver — after the team made significant changes in December with the trades of Jacob Trouba, their captain, and Kaapo Kakko.

The Daily examines another kick-in-the-gut loss suffered by New York Rangers, and has the latest NHL news and rumors, including Alex Pietrangelo pulling out of 4 Nations Faceoff.

Whenever a franchise icon is traded, there is always a doubt about whether the new players can adequately replace their production. That is the predicament