Avs should re-sign Mikko Rantanen, but when will it happen?

Losing Mikko Rantanen would lead to more harm than good with recent back-to-back 100-point seasons.

The cap situation is getting tighter by the day, but Mikko Rantanen will likely remain with the Colorado Avalanche.

Why Rantanen Will/Should Stay With Colorado

For the first time in his career, Rantanen is coming off back-to-back 100-point seasons, which may come as a surprise. If some recall, fans criticized Rantanen in spurts throughout last year for a supposed lack of effort. Some said there was a lack of locker room leadership and questioned whether Mikko was dealing with a secret injury. Ultimately, it’s a moot point because Rantanen still found the net 42 times this past season and added 62 assists, which was 12 more than he contributed from the previous year. If Rantanen was lazy, give us more of the same. In a way, our expectations for Mikko may be too high sometimes. He was only one point shy of matching his career-high in points, which happened the year before last. What else could he have done differently? Scored more goals? On paper, yes, but he still had a great year. Trading him would be a bad move.

When a team trades a superstar, it rarely works out for them. For instance, in 1991, the Oilers traded Mark Messier and future consideration(Jeff Beukeboom and David Shaw) to the New York Rangers in exchange for Louie DeBrusk, Bernie Nicholls, and Steven Rice. At the age of 29, Messier was already a five-time Stanley Cup Champion with Edmonton and still had plenty of years left. The return on investment for the Oilers was poor. DeBrusk wasn’t a consistent threat, Rice wound up back in the minors, and Nicholls was traded to the New Jersey Devils soon after. We’d be remiss if we didn’t bring up the Montreal Canadiens trading Patrick Roy and Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky, and Andrei Kovalenko. The trade was a catastrophe for the Canadiens, while Colorado immediately won a Stanley Cup in 1996 and won again in 2001. Another solid example would be the Winnipeg Jets trading Teemu Selanne to the then-Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 1996. Selanne became a superstar and the face of the franchise and still is to an extent. He’s the greatest Duck of all time. If Rantanen is dealt, who can they find to fill the void? Quite frankly, they probably can’t. All things considered, and with all due respect, trading him would be foolish.

Rantanen was a key contributor during the 2022 Cup run with 25 points in 20 games. And unlike a certain someone, he hasn’t engaged in suspicious activities, nor have we seen a true dip in his production. Although the cap situation will have to be addressed in the future (i.e. Cale Makar will need a new contract by 2027), this current group can bring Colorado its fourth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Would it be a disappointment if this group fell short in that endeavor? Of course. No one likes losing unless you’re deep in the waters and already eliminated from the playoffs; you might like losing to gain a better draft position. But if you’re an established group of young, accomplished, and hungry players, all you want to do is win. The last thing you want to do is cut ties before you have to and watch a guy like Rantanen, a fan favorite, go out and win a Stanley Cup with another team while Colorado fans are watching from the couch. We shouldn’t take a player like Rantanen for granted while we have him and enjoy watching him in his prime with some of the best players in the NHL, including Nathan MacKinnon.

The Best Bet For Rantanen’s Next Deal

After how Val Nichushkin’s eight-year contract has played out, it’s a possibility that Colorado will pursue a short-term deal instead. Rantanen is entering the final year of a six-year, $55.5 million contract signed in 2019. The agreement has carried a $9.25 million AAV for the Avs. Perhaps Colorado can propose a four-year deal with an AAV of $11 million, or if there’s a team-friendly option, it would be wise to explore that option. It’s possible Rantanen and/or his agents will tell the Avalanche to kick rocks at the latter, and given his immense talent, there’ll be plenty of teams trying to lure him to their side with more money. But as we saw with the late Johnny Gaudreau, not everything is about money. Sometimes it’s about family, brotherhood, and the joy of the game. Rantanen appears to enjoy playing here in Colorado, and if that is the case, they’ll go to the negotiating table and make something happen.

Given that MacKinnon is entering the second year of his eight-year contract, a $100.8 million contract, it would make sense for Colorado to go all-in on Rantanen. Their two core forwards would be locked up for a considerable amount of time, and there are currently a plethora of solid prospects developing behind the scenes. With that said, the Avalanche will be a consistent threat to win the Stanley Cup for a while.