Stars’ Rantanen before first game vs. Avs: ‘I always wanted to stay in Colorado’

Mikko Rantanen will play in Colorado for the first time as a member of the opposition on Sunday, and the new Dallas Stars forward admitted it’s going to be an emotional night.

Especially considering he never wanted to be in anything other than an Avalanche uniform.

Rantanen was traded twice this season, including the shocking move that saw the Avalanche ship out their long-time star to the Carolina Hurricanes after contract extension talks failed. His trade saga concluded with a move to the Stars ahead of the trade deadline, which also included am eight-year, $96-million contract extension.

Ahead of Sunday’s matchup against his old team, Rantanen spoke to the Denver media about the split.

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“First thing I want to say is thank the organization, the fans, the players, the coaches for the last 10 years,” Rantanen told reporters Saturday. “It was an amazing time here and a successful time for our team here. That’s the first thing I want to say, just thank the fans for their support.”

The Finnish superstar then admitted contract negotiations were ongoing with the Avs right up until his final days in Colorado.

“It was a weird situation overall,” Rantanen said Saturday. “Obviously negotiations were going on with Colorado. Six weeks before the deadline, we were still negotiating at that point and I felt at that time I needed to go talk to front office, which I did, face to face. I told them I’ll be flexible and I want to play here for a long time. And then a couple days later, they traded me. So, that was obviously very emotional.”

But his time in Raleigh would be brief, and now he finds himself back in the same division of a team he never wanted to leave.

“It’s been a different six, seven weeks for sure,” Rantanen said Saturday. “It was hard, because at the end of the day, I always wanted to stay in Colorado. That was the plan. I told the front office, too, I told them face-to-face that I was going to be flexible. But I understand, better players than me have been traded in the history of the NHL. So, it happens.”

Sunday afternoon’s matchup is the final meeting between the Stars and Avalanche in the regular season, but much bigger games could be on the horizon. If the Stanley Cup Playoffs were to start today, the Stars would host the Avalanche in Round 1.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be weird for sure, going back there,” Rantanen said last week about a potential playoff series against the Avs. “I spent, you know, 10 years with the organization. A lot of good friends, all the staff, coaches, I know them very well.”

With Rantanen now tied to the Stars for the next eight years, he’s going to get to know what it’s like playing against them very well, too.