The man they call “Moose” has left the Rocky Mountains for Tobacco Road.

The Colorado Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen, one of the top goal scorers in team history and a key member of the 2022 Stanley Cup title team, Friday night to the Carolina Hurricanes in one of the most seismic transactions since the franchise moved to Denver.

Colorado received Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft and a fourth-round selection in 2026 from the Hurricanes as part of a three-team deal announced late Friday night. Former league MVP Taylor Hall also went from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Hurricanes as part of the blockbuster.

Necas, 26, is having a breakout season for the Hurricanes and is the key part of the return for Colorado. A 6-foot-3 wing, Necas has 16 goals and 55 points in 49 games. He is in the first season of a two-year contract which carries a $6.5 million cap hit.

He was a first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2017 NHL draft and set career highs in goals (28) and points (71) two seasons ago. While similar in size and position to Rantanen, he is faster but less physical than the guy who earned the nickname “Moose.”

Rantanen is in the final season of a six-year contract that carries a $9.25 million cap hit. He can hit unrestricted free agency in July, and is likely to command a significant raise.

There have been reports that Rantanen is seeking a deal similar to the one Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl signed in September, which was for eight years at $14 million per season. Rantanen and Draisaitl have the same agent.

Nathan MacKinnon is the Avs’ highest-paid player at $12.6 million per season and is under contract through 2031. Cale Makar, whose contract is currently at $9 million per season, has two years remaining after this one before he will also command a significant raise.

The salary cap ceiling is expected to rise, possibly substantially, over the next couple of seasons. But even with that, the Avs decided to move on from Rantanen now, instead of playing out the year and potentially losing him for nothing or making a deal with a significantly smaller return after the season ends.

In the short-term, the Avs have replaced Rantanen with a very good player, but one who lacks his track record of success — particularly in the postseason — and added another depth forward. Colorado has a little more wiggle room with the salary cap this season, and potentially a lot more in the offseason. The long-term impact of this trade and its legacy will likely come down to three factors:

1. What does Rantanen’s next contract ultimately end up being?

2. Who do the Avs add with the extra cap space?

3. What does Necas’ next contract, which will begin with the 2026-27 season, look like?

Once the Avs activate Miles Wood from long-term injured reserve in the coming days, Colorado will have $3.1 million in cap space available. The Avs would have to make further alterations if captain Gabe Landeskog ($7 million cap hit) is able to play at some point during the regular season.

Drury, who turns 25 next month, has three goals and nine points in 39 games this season while averaging 12:53 of ice time. He is a 5-foot-11 center who was a second-round pick in 2018. Drury is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.725 million cap hit.

His uncle is Chris Drury, who played four seasons with the Avalanche and was on the 2001 Stanley Cup-winning team. He is currently general manager of the New York Rangers.

Rantanen leaves behind a significant legacy as he exits for Carolina.

A first-round pick in 2015, he has been part of the Avs’ core for years and is one of the best wings in the league. He set a career-high with 55 goals and 105 points two seasons ago and has had back-to-back 100-point seasons. He currently leads the Avs with 25 goals and has 64 points, which was sixth in the NHL entering Friday night’s games.

Rantanen won the Stanley Cup with the Avs in 2022 as one-third of arguably the best “Big Three” in the sport for the past four seasons alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. He has scored the sixth-most goals (287) and seventh-most points (681) in franchise history. His 55 goals in 2022-23 are tied for the third-most in franchise history and the most since the club moved to Colorado.

The Blackhawks are retaining half of Rantanen’s cap hit for the rest of this season as part of the deal, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic.