Things did not exactly work out between the Carolina Hurricanes and right wing Mikko Rantanen. As a result, general manager Eric Tulsky decided to move on from Rantanen at the NHL trade deadline.
Moving Rantanen occupied a large portion of Tulsky’s attention at the deadline, but he made the trade that was best for the team.
“It was a busy week for sure,” Tulsky said via The Athletic. “Obviously we had one big thing to sort out that absorbed the lion’s share of the attention. Ultimately, we felt like we knew what this team needed to keep going forward and we went after it.”
Rantanen’s reason for wanting to leave Carolina was different from anything Tulsky had dealt with in the past.
Mikko Rantanen did not want to leave Avalanche
Mikko Rantanen did not want to move on from the Colorado Avalanche, but the team decided to move on from him.
“Six weeks before the deadline, we were still negotiating at that point, and I felt at that time I needed to go talk to (the) front office, which I did, face to face. I told them I’ll be flexible, and I want to play here for a long time. Then a couple days later they traded me,” Rantanen said via The Athletic.
Rantanen and the Dallas Stars took on the Avalanche on Sunday, his first return to Denver since departing from the team.
“Personally, emotional. Hopefully, positive from the fans from that standpoint that, you know, like I said, I never wanted to leave. So, it wasn’t like I asked for, asked to leave. So, hopefully, it’s positive. You know, I have good memories here, and gonna be emotional, for sure.”
While Rantanen would prefer to be in Colorado, he will put his best foot forward in Dallas.
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