The hockey world was stunned when the biggest trade of the season, so far, broke on Friday night.

The Carolina Hurricanes swung for the fences and landed forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche, also getting Taylor Hall and prospect Nils Juntorp from the Chicago Blackhawks. In return, the Avalanche received forwards Martin Necas, Jack Drury and two picks, while the Blackhawks received their own third-round pick for this year from Carolina, retaining half of Rantanen’s salary.

The deal caught many by surprise, as a lot of people didn’t know that Rantanen and the Avalanche were unable to strike a contract extension. The fact Avs general manager Chris MacFarland and Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky were able to put together such a big deal was also impressive.

It was later revealed, in an interview with Finnish media, that Rantanen was willing to take a pay cut to stay in Denver. Yet, the two sides were unable to come to an agreement.

On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli explained how this team quickly came together.

Frank Seravalli: I think [the Avalanche] had come to grips with [moving on from Rantanen] a few weeks ago, that they were probably leading toward doing this. I first started making calls around the league about Rantanen’s availability during World Juniors. I received some pushback at the time. Some were from some skeptical teams…and others were thinking that maybe it was being used as leverage. Like, “Hey, if word gets out that the Avs are talking to teams about Mikko Rantanen, that will put pressure on the Rantanen camp to come to the table and get the deal done.”

I think the Avs clearly drew a hard line in the sand. I think it’s a mistake to deal in absolutes…when you do that, you put your team in a vulnerable position, both ways. You’re either breaking your rule, which is not really a good look, or you have to say goodbye to some really important people. I can’t really make an argument that the Colorado Avalanche are better today.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…