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Avalanche Coach Gives Cold Answer on NHL Star Mikko Rantanen

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Oct 11, 2025 11:15 AM ET

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar made it clear Friday that he’s long past thinking about Mikko Rantanen ahead of the team’s first meeting with the Dallas Stars since last year’s playoff elimination.

When asked on Friday if facing Rantanen would carry extra emotion, Bednar stayed focused on the present and seemed to have forgotten their shared past together.

Answering a question on how long it took him to move on from losing his former star winger, Bednar didn’t hesitate.

“Once you play him in a playoff series, for me, it’s like you’re business-focused and that’s it,” Bednar said. “He’s gone, he’s gone. For me, it took me about ten minutes.”

️Jared Bednar when asked how long it takes for the wound to heal from losing Mikko Rantanen:

"Took me about ten minutes. Not that I don't like Mikko but I'm not dwelling in the past." #GoAvsGo | @gs_off_ice pic.twitter.com/ByGT8taaeL
— Guerilla Sports (@guerillasports_) October 10, 2025

Added Bednar: “Not that I don’t like Mikko, but I’m not dwelling in the past on any of that kind of stuff. You have to move forward and move forward quickly.”

It was a blunt answer from the Avalanche coach ahead of Saturday’s rematch at Ball Arena, where Rantanen will face his old team for the first time since he helped Dallas knock Colorado out of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round.

The Finnish forward scored 12 points in the seven-game series, including a hat trick in the decisive Game 7 after being traded to the Stars following a short stint with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) during a stoppage in play.Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Rantanen, now in the first season of an eight-year, $96 million deal, has continued to make an impact in Dallas, posting three points (one goal, two assists) in his debut.

Bednar’s Avalanche, meanwhile, have started the year as strongly as possible, posting a perfect 2–0–0 and defeating the Los Angeles Kings and Utah Mammoth.

The Avalanche will host the Stars on Saturday night in their home rematch of that playoff series, with both teams unbeaten early in the new campaign.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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