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.

MacKinnon dished out two assists in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Rangers. MacKinnon saw success alongside new linemate Martin Necas and the two provided assists on Cale Makar's pair of first-period goals.

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.

Nathan MacKinnon is in a tight race for the Hart Trophy (MVP), but the Colorado Avalanche center likely added another bullet point to his strong résumé on Wednesday night.

Logs second-period tally

Nathan MacKinnon was stunned. He used other words — shocked and sad were two — to describe the Colorado Avalanche trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. The best way to describe how he looked about 18 hours after an “Earth-shifting hockey trade” though,

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,

George Nassios and Andrew McInnis discuss the latest odds for the NHL's Hart Trophy, Calder Trophy, playoffs and Stanley Cup final, as well as other predictions.

The Colorado Avalanche put up a short performance against division rival Minnesota Wild in their fourth of a five-game homestand. Nathan MacKinnon scores Colorado's lone goal in the 3-1 loss.

Nathan MacKinnon has the inside track on his second-straight Hart Trophy winner. Here are four other names to watch in the NHL's MVP race.

Yakov Trenin scored against his former team early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday.

Colorado has a 28-18-1 record overall and a 7-7-0 record in Central Division play. The Avalanche have conceded 146 goals while scoring 158 for a +12 scoring differential. Minnesota has gone 27-15-4 overall with a 9-6-2 record against the Central Division. The Wild are 8-3-2 in one-goal games.