Comment on Five things to watch as the NBA's trade deadline approaches

The man they call “Moose” has left the Rocky Mountains for Tobacco Road. The Colorado Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen, one of the top goal scorers in team history and a key member of the 2022 Stanley Cup title team, Friday night to the Carolina Hurricanes in one of the most seismic transactions since the franchise moved to Denver. Colorado received Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft and a fourth-round selection in 2026 from the Hurricanes as part of a three-team deal announced late Friday night.

Winning leads to talented people leaving through promotions. After the Broncos reached the playoffs for the first time since 2015, powered by powerful draft classes, assistant general manager Darren Mougey has emerged as a strong candidate to land the New York Jets’ GM job. Mougey, 39, conducted a second interview Thursday with the Jets, per a Sports Illustrated report.

The Rockies announced 23 players received a non-roster invite to 2025 spring training, a mix of up-and-coming prospects as well as players who have seen major league service time with other clubs. Some of the non-roster invites are bound to compete for an opening-day roster spot, and could have a noticeable impact on Colorado’s chances this summer. Nine of the non-roster invites join Colorado from different organizations, and eight of those players already made their MLB debut.

Are you ready for the Colorado Corkscrew? Or maybe the Colorado Chunder? The Denver Double Grabs? “I am talking to a big ownership group in Denver,” X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom, the former Olympian, Loveland native and ex-CU Buff told The Denver Post recently. “They would want it to be the Denver — the ‘Colorado Somethings,’ fill in the blank.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone was the first to point out earlier this month that Russell Westbrook seems to play “a little bit harder” against the Clippers, the veteran point guard’s most recent team before signing with Denver last offseason. Does the same principle apply to a coach and his ex? The Nuggets demolished the Kings on Thursday in the first head-to-head meeting between them since Malone sharply criticized Sacramento’s firing of coach Mike Brown.

In Denver’s second season with coach Sean Payton as the play caller, the offense made strides but there’s still more work to be done. Here’s a look back at the Broncos’ offensive production during the 2024 season: Five key offensive numbers 25: Points per game (No. 10 in the NFL) 324.6: Total yards per game (No.