Nathan MacKinnon wasn’t exactly impressed when he found out his linemate and close friend had been traded. The 29-year-old from Cole Harbour reacted to Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen’s trade to the Carolina Hurricanes on the weekend and he didn’t have a whole lot of positives to offer.

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

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 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.

Is it time to bet on the Hurricanes as Stanley Cup champions? What can MacKinnon do without Rantanen? Who will start in net for Sweden and Canada?All that and more.

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 Colorado Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland has a message about that.

The surprising trade that saw the Colorado Avalanche trade star winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes has been met with shock and some level of despair within the Avs’ locker room. Rantanen has twice broken the 100-point mark during his 10 seasons in Colorado,

Where does the NHL's biggest in-season trade in decades leave the Canes, Avs and Blackhawks ... and the Canucks and Rangers? Let's dig in.

Will he re-sign in Carolina after this season -- and if not, where else? And what will other contenders do to keep pace ahead of the March 7 deadline?

After that game, Avalanche players finally had a chance to publicly react to the trade, and the team's best player, Nathan MacKinnon, had one of the stronger reactions.