Rantanen said he thought talks with the Avs had been productive before the shocking trade to the Canes: "I didn’t know we were in a rush."

After that game, Avalanche players finally had a chance to publicly react to the trade, and the team's best player, Nathan MacKinnon, had one of the stronger reactions.

Mikko Rantanen skated to center ice at UBS Arena and a familiar sound emanated from his teammates near the bench. “Moooose.” Rantanen scooped up the puck on his stick, smoothly moved toward the goaltender and then snapped a shot off the crossbar and into the net.