Colorado Avalanche superstar Mikko Rantanen is entering the final year of his contract with the team.
Hopefully, he’ll be locked down to a long extension soon.
A new deal for Rantanen is close, reports Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports. Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland declined to comment on extension talks during a recent Zoom call with the media, but that’s not uncommon for executives to do in this situation.
Rantanen signed a six-year, $55 million deal with the Avalanche before the 2019 season. Remarkably enough, that’s almost up, and it’s time for a new contract to get inked. Rantanen is due to make $9.25 million in the 2024-25 season, so the common thought is his next deal will be worth more than $10 million a year.
As Montano says, it could go for seven or eight years, ensuring Rantanen pretty much finishes his career in Colorado. He’s currently 27-years-old and will be 28 in October.
Rantanen is a key member of the Avalanche’s core, along with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Hopefully that group includes captain Gabriel Landeskog and forward Valeri Nichushkin this upcoming season, but they’re both fighting to come back for very different reasons.
Rantanen has been durable for the Avalanche, as well as wildly productive. He’s topped 100 points each of the last two seasons and has made two All-Star games. In eight full seasons with Colorado, he’s scored 262 goals and added 355 assists. He’s consistently one of the most productive players in the league.
It’s a no-brainer for Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland to keep Rantanen around, the money just has to make sense as the NHL salary cap is expected to continue to increase in the coming years.
The extension for Mikko Rantanen being “close” is a positive sign, now it just has to get done. And hopefully that news drops at some point in the coming weeks.
