Mikko Rantanen says ‘change is never easy’ in latest social media update

Mikko Rantanen said that "change is never easy" in his most recent social media post, but also changed a setting on the post that shows the weird relationship he now has with Avalanche fans

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Jun 17, 2025, 10:27 AM

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Change is a tough concept for anyone to get used to, no matter where along the road for happens. For Colorado Avalanche fans, change happened for them when they were eating dinner back on January 24 and discovered that Mikko Rantanen, one of the best and longest-tenured players on the team, was being traded and would no longer be repping the burgundy and blue.

This wasn’t just any other trade. This was a trade that happened six weeks before the deadline in a flurry of panic because the Avalanche front office couldn’t come to terms with the Finnish winger on a new contract extension. Reports were all over the place as to what Rantanen’s ideal number was as opposed to what Colorado’s was, but at the end of the day, no deal got done, and Rantanen was sent off to the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal that netted Martin Necas and Jack Drury as the primary assets.

The change didn’t stop there for the 2022 Stanley Cup Champion, as he was clearly not happy nor himself in Carolina, and was traded to the Dallas Stars. There, he signed an 8-year, $12 million contract extension that was pretty close to the number that the Avalanche had reportedly offered him, a move that felt like a stab in the back to so many Avalanche fans who loved and supported the Moose over the years.

If he signed that deal in Carolina, it likely would’ve gone over better. However, since he decided to do it with Dallas, who has formed a healthy rivalry with Colorado over recent years in the Central Division.

Over the weekend, the former Avalanche star took to Instagram to post an end-of-season update after he went ice cold in the playoffs and the Stars bowed out to the Edmonton Oilers in five games, an act that was all too familiar to Avs fans after Rantanen sent them home in the first round.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mikko Rantanen (@cradnec)

“Change is never easy,” Rantanen said to kick off the update.

The most important thing to note in Rantanen’s post is that there are only a handful of comments, as he limited them to just a handful of people. This was not a move that he did after the trade, as the comments on the post he made after the trade are north of 1,600. It appears that he’s aware that his decision to sign with Dallas for a similar amount of money somewhat villainized him among the Avalanche faithful, and restricted the comments to limit that negative pushback he likely would have received.

What was once one of the best relationships between a player and a fanbase in the entire NHL just five months ago is now one filled with fractures, breaks and hard feelings. Rantanen is going to be in the green and white for a long time, and Avalanche fans better get used to this change quickly before he scores another hat trick against his former team.