Also: Will Alex Pietrangelo's 4 Nations opt-out lead to more stars prioritizing their health over the event? And who will replace him?

The word “blockbuster” gets thrown around a little too often in today’s NHL, often for trades unworthy of the term, in the same way that anything might feel like a five-star meal to a starving man. But the deal that dropped on Friday night? That one deserves the title, no questions asked.

DENVER — Trading Moose is fan abuse. Surely, they’re not done. Right? Shipping out Mikko Rantanen has to be the beginning of a mid-season makeover — not the Finn-ishing piece. Surely, somebody’s coming.

The Avalanche made one of the biggest trades in Colorado sports history last week when it sent away star forward Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes in a deal that included the Blackhawks. In return, the Avs received forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, plus a pair of draft picks (2025 second-rounder and 2026 fourth-rounder).

The Mikko Rantanen trade on Friday, Jan. 24, 2024, was one of the biggest trades we have seen in a very long time. As news trickled in individually about who wasn’t involved in the trade, picks, and conditions,

Speaking to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh on Monday, Rantanen shared his thoughts on the trade, his contract talks with the Avalanche and his new chapter in Carolina. Most interestingly, Rantanen confirmed that he was "ready to take a significant discount" to stay in Colorado, as initially reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

The blockbuster deal between the Hurricanes and Avalanche on Friday creates intrigue about how the Golden Knights will handle the March 7 trade deadline.

After the shocking blockbuster deal that shipped Mikko Rantanen out of Colorado, he broke silence on his view.

The Hurricanes, in their history, have never traded for an in-his-prime superstar like Mikko Rantanen. This changes everything.

Our staff identified 13 buyers, nine sellers and 10 teams that could go either way (or do some buying and selling) at the trade deadline.

The Calgary Flames continue to search for offense, which explains why Jonathan Huberdeau is the NHL's lowest-ranked top scorer of a team.

The West has six teams with a chance to win the Stanley Cup north of 2.5 percent. These are each team’s signature strengths and fatal flaws.