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Mikko Rantanen Trade Rumors: Avalanche Planning an Ultimatum?

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | By Jim Biringer | Last updated Jan 17, 2025 11:30 AM ET

While everyone is talking about Mitch Marner and John Tavares with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the other member of the “Big Three” free agents this summer is Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche.

Like the others listed above, Rantanen was eligible to sign an extension on July 1st. However, those negotiations have not gone smoothly. As a matter of fact, they were put on pause to begin the season. Colorado wanted to get a deal done before the start of the regular season, but the extension given to Leon Draisaitl by the Edmonton Oilers threw a monkey wrench into these negotiations.

Draisaitl’s new annual average value will be $14 million a season when his extension kicks in on July 1, 2025. Before Pierre LeBrun of TSN released his report that Rantanen was seeking $14 million, Adrian Dater had his report right before the season started. He also mentioned there that talks would be shelved until the end of the season.

The issue for Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland is that he does not want to pay Rantanen more than $12.6 million a season. That number is what Nathan MacKinnon is making. However, with the salary cap expected to go up, the Avalanche may have no choice but to do that, especially if they want to keep him long-term.

The longer this situation drags out, the more speculation about his future with the club will arise. There are reports that if the Avalanche could not negotiate an extension with Rantanen, they would trade him before the March 7th deadline. But that is not the case at all.

Avalanche Have Not Issued Ultimatum to Rantanen

Frank Seravalli on Amazon Coast to Coast stated that Avalanche wanted to keep Rantanen, and the March 7th trade deadline was not a breaking point or an ultimatum for them to trade him.

So, what’s going on with #GoAvsGo contract talks with Mikko Rantanen?

Tonight on NHL Coast to Coast on @SportsOnPrimeCA:pic.twitter.com/OdYD6DqnoR
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 17, 2025

“There seemed to be a notion growing around the NHL over the last number of days and weeks that if Mikko Rantanen does not sign by the March 7 trade deadline, the Colorado Avalanche will trade him. I’m here to tell you that that’s not an ultimatum that’s ever been issued to the Rantanen camp and beyond that, I don’t think it’s a position that the Colorado Avalanche would want to be in at this point in time, given how productive Rantanen has been and how much he means to that team.”

If you look at the Colorado Avalanche, they need Rantanen and MacKinnon to go with Cale Makar. Mackenzie Blackwood has been excellent between the pipes, but offensively, this is a two-man team. Colorado does not have a second-line center, and Rantanen played at the 2C position on Thursday night.

Rantanen, on the season, has 62 points (25 goals and 37 assists) in 46 games played. For his career, he has 679 points (287 goals and 382 assists) in 616 games. He is over a point-per-game player. Rantanen is on pace for another 100-point season. Not to mention, he has 101 points (34 goals and 67 assists) in 81 playoff games. Rantanen and MacKinnon are the second-best duo in the NHL, behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton.

So Rantanen is important to the Avalanche’s success. Given that Colorado has aspirations to win another Stanley Cup with this group, they cannot afford to trade him. It just does not make sense.

What’s Next for the Avalanche?

So where do the sides go from here? Seravalli continued:

So where do things stand? Where is this heading? I believe that the Rantanen camp has been focused on a deal in the $14 million year per range, in line with what Leon Draisaitl received with the salary cap increasing. I believe the Avs on the other hand, have been much closer to the $12.6 at or under what Nathan MacKinnon is earning on the cap moving forward. And what we’ve arrived at now is a bit of a stalemate. I believe things have been rather quiet on this file in the last number of weeks here, but they’ve got some time, and I’d expected to pick up during the 4 Nations Face-Off break.”

The Avalanche will not trade Rantanen unless they are getting a star player like Elias Pettersson or a Mitch Marner in return, and even then, MacFarland is probably saying no. Colorado’s success relies on Mikko Rantanen being there.

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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