Q >> Sad to see Mikko Rantanen go, but at least the Avalanche didn’t pull and Rockies and get nothing for a star who didn’t want to sign a realistic deal in Colorado. Now that the dust has settled, what are your thoughts?

— Rip, Aurora

Q >> If the Avs had known about the new salary cap for the upcoming seasons, do you think they still would have made the Rantanen deal?

— @jeremymay17 on Bluesky

Q >> Is there anything that prevents the Avalanche from re-signing Mikko this summer? That way we get Mikko back and all the assets he was traded for!

— Tony, Pueblo

Corey >> Lots of questions about the Rantanen trade. Let’s work in reverse order on these three.

Nothing prevents the Avs from signing Rantanen, if he makes it to July 1. They will be just like the other 31 teams — able to offer him only a seven-year contract, not eight like Carolina can between now and then. Wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen, though.

The Avs certainly had some inkling that the salary cap ceiling might increase. Did every team/agent know exactly what those figures in Friday’s press release were going to be? Maybe not, but it’s hard to imagine anyone being blindsided by it.

While the Avs have more room to work with, so do the other 31 teams.

I’ve covered four NHL teams at different stages of contending or rebuilding, and this was easily the most stunning trade. There are also many layers to unpack — some of which won’t happen until this postseason, this offseason and beyond.

Here are my thoughts, in the immediate aftermath:

• The Avs are worse, on paper, today than they were when the team landed in Boston

• They are also different, and one clear change is Jared Bednar has four centers, and four lines, that he can trust now. That likely raises the floor, but there’s work to do before we know what the ceiling is, this season and beyond.

• Colorado can still add before the deadline, and with the right addition or two, plus a healthy lineup, could still make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avs need another defenseman, for sure. A bigger center, pushing Parker Kelly back to the wing, wouldn’t hurt, either.

• This offseason could affect how history hugely remembers this deal. Martin Necas, Jack Drury and picks weren’t enough for Mikko Rantanen, but those picks and the cap flexibility should help at the deadline and to potentially add another critical player this summer. Necas, Drury and another second-line forward or middle-pairing defenseman look a lot better.

• Wouldn’t surprise me at all, given how both teams play, if we look up around this time next season and the numbers for Necas and Rantanen look similar since the trade. Necas might really work here.

• What Rantanen ultimately signs will matter, but what Necas gets in his next deal (assuming it is with the Avs) will also matter. They have one more year of him at $6.5 million, which looks like a bargain right now. How big of a raise he gets, compared to what Rantanen signs for, is going to impact the hindsight on the trade.

• If Necas lifts the Stanley Cup with the Avs, history will remember that deal fondly. If MacKinnon never does again in Colorado, the what-ifs will be talked about for decades.

Q >> I have heard rumors that Sidney Crosby might want to come to Colorado to play with his good friend Nathan MacKinnon. Is this something that could really happen?

— Brandon, Denver

Corey >> Crosby has said repeatedly that he is not leaving Pittsburgh. He’s not Ray Bourque. His legacy is secure. That would be more stunning than the Rantanen deal, even though people love to speculate about it.