Signs of big trouble coming from Carolina’s big trade on Friday

Mikko Rantanen not happy with trade to Carolina.

The now former star winger for the Colorado Avalanche is reportedly not happy about being traded.

On Friday, the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes orchestrated one of the biggest trades in modern National Hockey League history when Avalanche star winger Mikko Rantanen was traded in-season to the Hurricanes. It is a trade that stunned fans and pundits alike leaving many wondering what exactly had just transpired, and it sounds like the fans and pundits weren’t the only ones to be caught off guard by the news.

Reports about the trade are slowly starting to make their way to the public and it sounds like the centerpiece of this deal, Mikko Rantanen, may not exactly have been thrilled at the news that he had been traded either.

The first sign that the Rantanen camp may not have been thrilled about the trade came earlier today when NHL insider Pierre LeBrun made a tweet indicating that Rantanen was hoping to continue negotiations with the Avalanche prior to the trade being announced.

From LeBrun:

Rantanen was willing to continue negotiating throughout the season with Colorado. In fact, both sides had more contract talks this past week. Just couldn’t find enough common ground. The Avs, in the end, made the calculation they were never going to get there on a number…

Now you could accuse me of reading too much into those comments from LeBrun, which read to me almost like a public relations statement from Rantanen’s agent, but LeBrun wasn’t the only one to comment on the situation.

Rinkside reporter Andy Strickland also commented on the trade and indicated clearly that Rantanen was not happy, even going so far as to call the trade a “panic move” on the part of the Avalanche.

From Strickland:

Mikko Rantanen was completely caught off guard by the trade and was very upset. Colorado showed very little to no interest in attempting to re-sign him over the last several months. This was a panic move by Colorado.

Both of these statements read to me like unhappiness about a trade that stems entirely from the camp of Mikko Rantanen, and you have to wonder what that will mean for the Carolina Hurricanes who gave up a lot to acquire Rantanen in this deal