Insider Reporting a Blockbuster Larger Than the Mikko Rantanen Trade in the Works

Friday night saw the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche complete a massive three-team deal that ended Mikko Rantanen's time in Colorado prematurely.

According to reports, the Avalanche and Rantanen were too far apart in negotiations and the Avs chose to capitalize on the market for him now rather than potentially letting him walk for nothing in the off-season.

Shortly after the blockbuster was made official, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli made a cryptic post on 'X', noting that the Rantanen trade was not the biggest deal being discussed at the time, indicating that we should be prepared for a much larger deal that is in the works.

Although highly unlikely, a Mitch Marner trade is now possible. The pending UFA reportedly rejected an offer from the Leafs in December and if the two sides remain far apart, Leafs' GM Brad Treliving may follow a similar path and attempt to get assets in return for the former first-round pick. Again, this is a highly unlikely scenario, but the precedent has been set.

Later on Friday, after Seravalli's post hinting at a much larger deal in the works, Kevin Weekes, posted an image of the Pittsburgh skyline on 'X' leading to speculation that the Avalanche and Penguins may have a deal in the works to unite Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.

While Penguins GM Kyle Dubas vehemently dismissed notions of a 'fire sale' on Wednesday, he does need to prepare for the eventual departure of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and others by acquiring younger NHL players and continuing to restock the cupboards when it comes to their prospect pool.

If Rantanen is just the beginning of a shocking weekend, and the cryptic posts on social media are true, we could see another major move happen in the coming days.