We’ve seen some prominent unrestricted free agents sign early extensions over the past few months. One that some expected to do so is Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen but an agreement isn’t in place yet. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun relayed that there appears to still be a gap to be bridged between the two sides with Colorado potentially using Mikko Rantanen’s $12.6MM AAV as an internal cap on an offer. Rantanen – who kicked off his platform year with a hat-trick – has surpassed the 100-point mark in two straight years, putting him in line for a sizable raise on his current $9.25MM AAV; it’s possible that he breaks the record for the highest AAV for a winger (Rangers winger Artemi Panarin holds it with a $11.643MM cap charge).
- Still with the Avalanche, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette that winger Jonathan Drouin will miss at least the next two games with an upper-body injury. It’s another tough blow for a Colorado winger group that’s currently without Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, and Artturi Lehkonen. The 29-year-old had a career-high 56 points last season and logged more than 21 minutes in their season opener and will be re-assessed early next week to determine how much more time he might miss.