The Colorado Avalanche rocked the Front Range late Friday night after trading away star winger Mikko Rantanen to Carolina in a stunning three-team deal. Where does the trade rank in the history of Colorado sports? Here’s a look at the 10 biggest:
No. 10 George McGinnis for Alex English
Date: Feb. 1, 1980
Details: The Nuggets traded former ABA MVP George McGinnis for third-year pro Alex English and a 1980 first-round pick that eventually became Carl Nicks.
Synopsis: McGinnis’ best days were behind him, and he was out of the NBA by 1982. English, on the other hand, was just getting started. The silky smooth forward averaged 25.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists over the next 11 seasons with the Nuggets, including eight all-star nods and three All-NBA selections.
No. 9 Tulo to Toronto
Date: July 27, 2015
Details: First-year general manager Jeff Bridich dealt Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins to the Toronto Blue Jays for shortstop Jose Reyes and pitchers Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco.
Synopsis: Trade rumors swirled around Tulo all offseason before Bridich pulled off a deadline deal. The Jays reached the ALCS that October and the next, with Tulo hitting 29 homers over 172 games before injuries derailed his career. Of the four players Colorado got back, Hoffman’s 6-5 season in 2017 represented the apex.
No. 8 Clinton Portis for Champ Bailey
Date: March 4, 2004
Details: The Broncos sold high on running back Clinton Portis, sending him to Washington for Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey and a 2004 second-round pick.
Synopsis: After topping 3,000 yards over two years in Denver, Portis posted four more 1,000-yard seasons for a Washington team that won one playoff game over his seven years there. Bailey was a first-team All-Pro his first three years in Denver and second-team All-Pro two more times over a 10-year stint with the Broncos that cemented his Hall of Fame status.
No. 7 Carmelo Anthony & Chauncey Billups
Date: Feb. 22, 2011
Details: The three-way trade involving the Knicks and Timberwolves saw the Nuggets acquire Kosta Koufos, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and four New York draft picks. The Knicks got franchise icon ‘Melo and homegrown hero Billups, plus some other non-marquee players such as Shelden Williams and Corey Brewer.
Synopsis: GM Masai Ujiri blew up the Nuggets’ roster a year and a half following the team’s Western Conference Finals trip. Denver used one of the first-round picks it got to draft Jamal Murray in 2016.
No. 6 Mikko Rantanen
Date: Jan. 24, 2025
Details: With Mikko Rantanen months away from unrestricted free agency, Avs general manager Chris MacFarland sent the winger to Carolina in a three-team deal that netted forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury and second-round (2025) and fourth-round (2026) picks.
Synopsis: Only time will tell if MacFarland made the right move dealing Rantanen in-season rather than risk losing him for nothing in free agency. If this move sets up another deal down the line, Colorado’s Stanley Cup aspirations remain intact.
No. 5 Holliday for CarGo
Date: Nov. 10, 2008
Details: GM Dan O’Dowd flipped Matt Holliday, a central figure in the team’s 2007 pennant run, in exchange for one of the top young outfielders in the game, Carlos Gonzalez. Colorado also got closer Huston Street and starter Greg Smith.
Synopsis: Holliday lasted a half-season with the A’s before being traded to St. Louis; the Rockies got a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger in CarGo. Plus, they got a reliable closer in Street (84 saves in three years).
No. 4 Patrick Roy
Date: Dec. 6, 1995
Details: The Avalanche acquired the 30-year-old Roy and winger Mike Keane from Montreal in exchange for Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Rucinsky and Jocelyn Thibault.
Synopsis: Roy turned a great career into a Hall of Fame one with Colorado, leading the Avs to a pair of Stanley Cup titles. Keane made an impact on the 1996 title team as well, while none of the players the Canadians got so much as made an all-star team. The trade immediately altered the trajectory of the Avs, who had just relocated from Quebec.
No. 3 John Elway
Date: May 2, 1983
Details: Baltimore took Elway with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1983 draft, but the Stanford product refused to play for them. Using the leverage of a potential pro baseball career, Elway forced a trade to Denver six days after the draft in exchange for quarterback Mark Hermann, offensive tackle Chris Hinton and the Broncos’ first-round pick the next year (Ron Solt).
Synopsis: Chris Hinton was a perennial Pro Bowler on the Colts’ offensive line, but beyond that, this was a fleecing. Elway racked up 148 regular-season wins and played in five Super Bowls, winning the last two over the Packers and Falcons.
No. 2 Nolan Arenado
Date: Feb. 1, 2021
Details: GM Jeff Bridich traded Arenado to the Cardinals, and sent over approximately $51 million, to unload the Rockies star to St. Louis in exchange for one young left-handed pitcher (Austin Gomber) and four prospects (infielder Mateo Gil, right-hander Tony Locey, infielder Elehuris Montero and right-hander Jake Sommers).
Synopsis: GM Jeff Bridich’s last big move doesn’t look quite as bad as it once did. Arenado turned in three more All-Star seasons in St. Louis, but his production has since tailed off and now the Cardinals are looking to deal him. Gomber (4.75 ERA) is coming off a solid 2024, but is the only real asset Colorado got back.
No. 1 Russell Wilson
Date: March 8, 2022
Details: General manager George Paton traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant to the Seahawks for quarterback Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick.
Synopsis: The biggest trade in Colorado sports history also doubles as the biggest dud. Wilson signed a five-year, $242.6 million extension with the Broncos a few months after being acquired … and didn’t play one down of that deal before Denver cut him in March 2024.
Honorable mention
- Nuggets trade David Thompson to Supersonics for Bill Hanzlik and first-round pick (1982)
- Nuggets trade Kiki Vandeweghe to Blazers for Wayne Cooper, Fat Lever, Calvin Natt and two draft picks (1984)
- Nuggets trade Fat Lever to Mavericks for two first-round picks (1990)
- Rockies trade Larry Walker to Cardinals for Jason Burch, Luis Martinez and Chris Narveson (2004)
- Nuggets trade Allen Iverson to Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb (2008)
- Nuggets trade Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round draft picks (2007) to 76ers for Allen Iverson and Ivan McFarlin.
- Broncos trade Jay Cutler and fifth-round pick to Bears for Kyle Orton and three picks (2009)
- Rockies trade Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland for Alex White, Joe Gardner, Matt McBride and Drew Pomeranz (2011)
- Avalanche trade Matt Duchene to Senators for Sam Girard, Shane Bowers, Vladislav Kamenev and three draft picks (2017).
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