I think the Avs extended their 'window'. Locking up Rantanen would have forced them to make other moves, and probably brought them further away from winning a cup, not closer.
I like Necas in Colorado. I think he will fit in much better, and will probably re-sign for cheaper than Rantanen will. Colorado now has some draft capital to go and spend on players to shore-up their roster. They can go get Kadri, or they can go get Miller/Pettersson, or whomever else they want to fit-in with cap going the other way.
It is going to be interesting to see Rantanen in Carolina - interesting and weird.
I think the 'winner' of this trade will be measured in different ways to different people. Which team was able to re-sign their respective player (this season for Canes, next for Avs). How far did the team go in the playoffs? How are those players producing?
Unless a player flops big-time (which I really doubt), I think this is one of those trades in which you can make a solid argument for either side as to have won it.
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