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

The Colorado Avalanche has traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, according to multiple reports. Rantanen is in the final year of his contract and can be an unrestricted free agent in July. He leads the Avs with 25 goals and has 64 points, which was sixth in the NHL entering Friday night’s games.

Rantanen has been an essential member of the Avalanche's core since arriving in 2015-16, having won the Stanley Cup in 2021-22. Widely regarded as one of the NHL's premier offensive talents, he stands among the league's top five scorers over the last five seasons.

Here are three blockbuster Avalanche trade targets in the wake of the stunning Mikko Rantanen trade with the Hurricanes.

Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said it was a "tough business decision" to trade star winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes

Chris MacFarland said Mikko Rantanen’s pending free agency, need for more depth were biggest factors in seismic move.

Although plenty of new information has emerged regarding the trade that sent Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes, we hadn’t heard from the player himself. In an article by Corey Masisak of The Denver Post,

The NHL's sixth-leading scorer heads to Carolina, while Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and picks head to Colorado, with Chicago also involved in the deal.

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

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 Colorado Avalanche have traded 28-year-old star forward Mikko Rantanen. The team confirmed the move late Friday night.