The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are locked into a Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup. The two teams have played incredible games and series over the years. But this year, they are more tied together than ever before. Mikko Rantanen was traded from Colorado to Carolina, who moved him to Dallas. Ahead of the grudge match, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar says his team will be ready.
“We’ll be ready,” Bednar told NHL.com’s Dan Arritt. “We’ve got a whole week here to get prepared for Dallas. We know they’re a very good team, obviously, and they’ve been tough competition for us the last few years.”
The Avalanche have made the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Rantanen was a huge part of that, but will be on the other bench starting next week. Colorado is getting a big name back just in time for the playoffs, however. Captain Gabriel Landeskog played in his first professional game since the 2022 Cup Final in the AHL this week.
The Avalanche took two of the three games they played against the Stars this season. Only one came after Rantanen landed in Dallas, which Colorado won 4-3 in overtime. Can they keep that up in the playoffs?
The Avalanche can start a rivalry with a big win
Not only did Rantanen get traded to the Stars, but he also signed an eight-year extension to stay there. The Avalanche and Hurricanes both tried to negotiate a deal with Rantanen but could not get it done. They have Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar as two of the top players in the world, but losing to the Stars will certainly lead to some questions in Colorado.
The Avalanche made a lot of changes to their roster this year outside of Rantanen. In that trade, they picked up Martin Necas and Jack Drury. Then, they traded a pick and prospect to the New York Islanders for center Brock Nelson. They flipped Casey Mittlestadt for Charlie Coyle in a deadline-day deal with the Bruins. And they got Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey from the Rangers.
But the biggest change for the Avalanche is their completely new goalie room. They started the year with Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen, but within a week in December, they had MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. If all of the other trades don’t work but these ones do, the Avalanche could still be moving on.
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