Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said it was a "tough business decision" to trade star winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in the final year of his contract.
"It's a bittersweet day," MacFarland told reporters Saturday (h/t DNVR Avalanche.) "Mikko is a decorated player for us. He's an elite winger in this league. So, it was a tough few days, but we just felt the timing was right, and when the last few days it kind of came together— we decided to act yesterday, but it wasn't without a lot of serious thought, I can assure you of that.