Asked about the state of extension talks with not only Marner but John Tavares and pending RFA Matthew Knies earlier this month, Leafs GM Brad Treliving said, “Those are things that we always are looking at and talking about and rumbling around, but nothing to report right now.”

Chris MacFarland pointed to Rantanen’s pending free agency and the club’s desire to get deeper after three years of being short in that department as reasons for the trade. The NHL’s salary cap ceiling, which is set at $88 million this year but is expected to rise — possibly significantly — in the next couple of seasons is also a factor.

Facing the prospect of Colorado’s star winger Mikko Rantanen becoming an unrestricted free agent after this season, general manager Chris MacFarland felt the timing was right to deal him away and bolster the Avalanche’s roster for the future.

The Colorado Avalanche has traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, according to multiple reports. Rantanen is in the final year of his contract and can be an unrestricted free agent in July. He leads the Avs with 25 goals and has 64 points, which was sixth in the NHL entering Friday night’s games.

The Carolina Hurricanes are wasting no time introducing their latest acquisition to the organization. After swinging a massive trade for superstar Mikko Rantane

Who won Friday night's blockbuster that saw Mikko Rantanen go from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes?

The Hurricanes wasted no time making their major cup-chasing move. Despite the NHL Trade deadline being over a month away, Carolina added the most-significant firepower imaginable by acquiring Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche in a complicated three-way trade involving the Chicago Blackhawks.

The NHL's sixth-leading scorer heads to Carolina, while Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and picks head to Colorado, with Chicago also involved in the deal.

If the Avalanche had opened up a good old-fashioned bidding war on Mikko Rantanen, here are teams that would have been the best fit.

The Colorado Avalanche were at an impasse with Mikko Rantanen in terms of getting a contract done. There were talks at the beginning of the season as the unrestricted free agent was eligible to sign a new contract on July 1st,

The conversation around Marner’s situation has drawn comparisons to Mikko Rantanen’s recent trade from the Colorado Avalanche this past weekend. Both star forwards are in the