With the trade window done and dusted, the teams are settling down with their new rosters. While there were many big names who switched their allegiances to another team, there was one particular name that caught the eye of the NHL world. It was the star forward, Mikko Rantanen. Having been traded to the Hurricanes from the Avalanche earlier in the trade window, it was the Dallas Stars who finally acquired the services of the 28-year-old. A happy ending, right? Well, for everyone except Avs fans.

It was a roller-coaster journey for Rantanen, but you see he was also in talks with the Avalanche about extending his contract before that fateful trade. While that didn’t happen of course, the team’s fans were left angry over losing their star player even now. But what sparked this latest round of discourse, you may ask?

Well, yesterday, Rantanen was up against his former team, the Avalanche, while playing for the Stars. Although the Stars went down fighting 4-3, Rantanen did record an assist amidst an uneven overall performance. What’s more, Rantanen was greeted by a mix of cheers and boos on his return to his old stomping ground.

Now while the reactions at Ball Arena were mixed, on the Avalanche subreddit, fans were more generous towards Rantanen. That is, they expressed their relief at having ripped the Band-Aid off and experienced their first game against a player that was so beloved in the franchise. But it’s clear that some fans are still left with the frustration of losing their star man in the first place.

Avalanche fans vent their frustration over losing Mikko Rantanen

Mikko Rantanen had a bright start to the game against the Avalanche and chased down a turnover behind the goal line. This led to a simple assist for Roope Hintz, who made no mistake in feeding Robertson in the right circle for the shot. As a result, a fan commented, “That’s 1st goal stung a little not gonna lie, it’s a was a nasty goal and he was in on it. Couldn’t be mad but damn did i jump when makar called game.” Despite the love for Rantanen, it was Cale Makar who handed the Avs the win in overtime, and the fan was more than grateful for it.

Furthermore, Rantanen’s change in teams has also led him to get a new nickname in Dallas. This didn’t go down well with a fan, who wrote, “They aren’t calling him Moose in dallas…. They’re calling him Mikko Suave. I hate it.” Interestingly, ‘Moose’ was a famous nickname for Mikko Rantanen during his playing days with the Avalanche, and the fans fondly recalled calling him by that name, something which had changed with his switch to the Stars.

Meanwhile, some Avalanche fans were also frustrated because social media kept suggesting posts about Rantanen even after his switch to the new team. A frustrated fan responded, “Bro it’s just your Facebook feed, nobody cares. You surely have bigger problems to worry about.”  The fan eventually calmed other Avalanche fans down who were facing a similar issue.

On the other hand, one Reddit user suggested Avalanche fans move on after losing Rantanen to the Stars. The fan said, “I’m going to be real guys, this whole bitter ex thing towards Mikko we’ve got going on in this community is already old. It’s kind of embarrassing how much we’re refusing to move on.”  This came after the fans made a lot of fuss with Rantanen starring for Dallas despite their loss.

Lastly, another fan was angry as the Stars had a new nickname for Rantanen and shunned his popular nickname of “Moose.” “They should call him moose though. Thats our nick name we have given him. It’s an homage to his time with us,” wrote a fan, who reminisced about the time Rantanen played for the Avalanche and the fans using his popular nickname.

With the Avalanche prevailing over the Stars, the competition in the Central Division is heating up. The Avalanche are just two points behind the Stars, and if they continue their amazing form, they could even pip the Stars to the second position as the playoffs draw ever closer.