The general manager of the Colorado Avalanche wants fans and the NHL to know that his club remains strong, after dealing away Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche dealt Rantanen on Friday to Carolina, as part of a three-team trade that also involved Chicago.

Despite trading one of the NHL's scoring leaders and a franchise stalwart, MacFarland says the Avalanche are still "all-in."

Chris MacFarland said Mikko Rantanen’s pending free agency, need for more depth were biggest factors in seismic move.

According to the latest reports, Rantanen was seeking a contract worth $14 million per season, although he could have been willing to take less money to stay in Colorado. Even a figure near Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million average annual value might already have posed a challenge to the Avalanche.

Rantanen said he thought talks with the Avs had been productive before the shocking trade to the Canes: "I didn’t know we were in a rush."

Mikko Rantanen skated to center ice at UBS Arena and a familiar sound emanated from his teammates near the bench. “Moooose.” Rantanen scooped up the puck on his stick, smoothly moved toward the goaltender and then snapped a shot off the crossbar and into the net.

Jared Bednar has been known to rely heavily on his top forwards, often overplaying the top line to the point where some nights you wouldn't know the Avalanche were even dressing 12 forwards. That was not the case in Sunday's 5-4 win over the New York Rangers.