On Friday night, as many expected would happen, a Western Conference team traded away one of their top offensive players in a blockbuster deal.

But contrary to expectations, that team was not the Vancouver Canucks. Instead, it was the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avs shocked the hockey world in announcing that they’d dealt pending UFA Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. In return, Colorado received Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second round pick, and a 2026 fourth round pick. The Chicago Blackhawks also got involved in the transaction, retaining 50% of Rantanen’s contract along the way and sending Taylor Hall and prospect Nils Juntorp to Carolina in exchange for their own 2025 third rounder back.

It was a big trade in more ways than one.

But if you experienced this trade through a #Canucks social media lens, you no doubt saw a lot of doom and gloom surrounding it. Specifically, the general reaction from Vancouver supporters was that, in making this trade, Carolina had taken themselves out of the JT Miller/Elias Pettersson sweepstakes. This was a notion supported by the reporting of Elliotte Friedman.

In the end, the Hurricanes decided to pursue Rantanen instead. This could definitely be seen as bad news, particularly on the Miller trade front, with some now suggesting that the potential market for him had been reduced to ‘just’ the New York Rangers.

But from where we’re sitting, we are not so sure this isn’t a classic ‘one door closes, another opens’ sort of situation. Because while Carolina might reasonably be out of the running to make a major trade with the Canucks now, this trade may have opened up an opportunity for the Canucks to make a deal with the Avalanche.

See, the Avalanche didn’t just get Necas, Drury, and two picks back for Rantanen, though it would have been a more than respectable haul if they did. They also, in having Chicago retain on Rantanen instead of themselves, gained some considerable cap space.

Colorado has been operating in LTIR all season long due to a perhaps permanent injury to Gabriel Landeskog, as well as an extended absence from Val Nichushkin. But where they cannot accrue any further cap space, the Avs still have some LTIR relief space to burn. Following this trade, that amount is currently at an extra $5.6 million or so. That leaves them with plenty of flexibility to make another transaction, as some have suggested they are looking to.

Furthermore, one might argue that – aside from ensuring they don’t lose Rantanen for nothing at the end of the season – the Avalanche didn’t really accomplish any roster-related goals through this trade.

Heading into the stretch run, most agreed that the Avs’ biggest need was a more competent 2C. Casey Mittelstadt, acquired last year for Bowen Byram, just isn’t cutting it. Necas, meanwhile, looks like a decent Rantanen replacement on the wing, but if there’s one thing his breakout 2024/25 campaign has proven, it’s that he’s best kept away from the centre position. It’s likely that the Avalanche give him a try there anyway, but the odds are best Necas spends most of his time on Nathan MacKinnon’s flank.

Drury is a centre, but not one who should be in a top-six role, at least not yet. In fact, his inability to put up points in such a spot is one of the reasons why Carolina made him available in this trade.

So, one might argue that, post-trade, the Avalanche are still in the market for a high-quality centre. You can probably see where we’re going with this now.

The Avalanche have seemed to express some interest in Miller the last couple of times he was rumoured to be on the market. He’d certainly be a considerable upgrade on their centre position, and his age actually lines up pretty well with the Avalanche’s intention to compete during the peak years of MacKinnon (29), Devon Toews (30), and, to a lesser extent because of his relative youth, Cale Makar (26). A 31-year-old Miller gives them a few more good years, and then who really cares afterward?

The fit for Pettersson in Colorado, on the other hand, is perhaps even more obvious. One can imagine Pettersson really thriving in one of the strongest systems in hockey and under the shelter of one of the best centres in hockey. That might be contrary to Pettersson’s apparent desire to be ‘the guy.’ But then that probably falls by the wayside if the team he’s on is competing for the Cup each year.

Whatever locker room issues either player possesses, we have to think that a captain like MacKinnon is capable of sorting it out. This is a captain who somehow manages to get his teammates to not just agree to avoid sugar, but to celebrate him for his nutritional totalitarianism. MacKinnon is a no-nonsense leader with a winning track record to back him up.

In terms of a return, there are lots of interesting pieces to talk about. Among them is Necas himself, who we know the Canucks have expressed interest in before, both in last year’s Pettersson talks and this year in Miller and Pettersson-related discussions.

Where Carolina was unwilling to give up Necas to Vancouver, would Colorado be willing?

Beyond Necas, we’ll note a few other excess pieces that Colorado could part with for both value and cap balance. The aforementioned Mittelstadt is definitely among those pieces, signed at a $5.75 million AAV for this season and the next two. So, too, might be big bad RHD Josh Manson, signed for this season and next at $4.5 million with a 12-team NTC. We might even throw Sam Girard onto that list at $5 million even until 2027 with a nine-team NTC.

These are all pieces that, in being traded, would grant the Avalanche enough cap space to then accommodate either of Miller or Pettersson. They’re also pieces that would hold at least some value to the Canucks, either in and of themselves (Necas), or as a partial centre replacement (Mittelstadt), or as badly-needed blueline upgrades (Manson and Girard).

That would, in turn, reduce the rest of the cost of acquisition for Colorado. There, we’d suspect some package of picks and/or prospects, something the Avalanche are relatively flush with. They’ve already dealt away their 2025 first rounder, but they’ve got two seconds, and they have all future first rounders beyond this year. They’ve also got some stellar prospects on hand, starting with Cal Ritchie and filtering down from there.

So, to summarize, the Avalanche now have additional cap space, a need for a high-quality centre, and several pieces that could feasibly be offered in return for one. This is why we believe the Rantanen/Necas trade does not reduce the likelihood of a Canucks trade in the near future. Whether it be for Miller or Pettersson, the Avalanche are now very likely involved in the discussions.

Hurricane Season is over, but Avalanche Season might just be beginning.

And only time will tell where those discussions lead.