The 2024-25 season will become one of the most emotional years of Mikko Rantanen's career and possibly life. Rantanen spent 10 years with the Colorado Avalanche, but Chris MacFarland pulled the rug out from underneath him earlier this season when they traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes. However, everything changed when the Hurricanes flipped Rantanen to the Dallas Stars at the trade deadline. Emily Kaplan attempted to get a vengeful answer from the Finnish superstar after Game 7, but he decided to speak straight from the heart about his former teammates.

Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon formed one of the most formidable duos in the entire league. Once they added Cale Makar, the Avalanche became instant Stanley Cup contenders. It didn't take them long to fulfill that destiny, as they won the storied trophy in 2022. It looked like the Avalanche could rule the Western Conference for years after they won, but a couple of disappointing seasons followed.

Rantanen continued to be a star for the Avalanche. The playoff failures were far from his fault, but other factors led to MacFarland trading him at the deadline. Rantanen might have felt terrible about the deal, but it didn't cause him to show any hard feelings in the interview with Kaplan.

Mikko Rantanen's revenge is an unbelievable story

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It looks bad right now, but it's hard to blame MacFarland for the unfortunate events leading to this Game 7 thriller. He could've kept Rantanen, but he did a great job trying to limit the damage. The return was a bit lower than you'd think, but he preferred to receive a little less from the Hurricanes if it meant he was safe on the other side of the playoff bracket.

The triumph of getting Rantanen to the Eastern Conference didn't last long once contract talks broke down with Carolina. Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky is a cunning executive, and he decided to flip Rantanen instead of losing him for nothing. It was the second time a team made that decision on Rantanen, and the Stars were the beneficiaries.

He would never admit it, but Rantanen likely circled a possible first-round matchup with the Avalanche when he landed in Dallas. He can pretend the revenge factor doesn't matter all he wants, but it has a human element. Rantanen may love his old team, but this victory has to feel good.