Mikko Rantanen is due for a new contract soon, and if the Avalanche want to keep him in town, it could cost them a pretty penny.
The Colorado Avalanche look likely to be one of the best teams in the NHL again heading into the 2024-25 campaign, and a big reason why is because they feature star players like Mikko Rantanen. There's no doubt that the Avs want to keep Rantanen around for the long haul, but it may cost them quite a bit of money if they intend on doing so.
Rantanen is entering the final year of his six-year, $55 million contract, meaning he's going to need a new deal soon. Colorado would obviously like to be the team writing his checks for the next few years, but it could end up costing them a bit, as early reports suggest that Rantanen could earn an AAV of over $12 million on his next deal.
Avalanche will have to splurge to keep Mikko Rantanen in town
It's not exactly hard to see the logic behind these rumors, as Rantanen has turned himself into one of the forwards in the league during his time with the Avalanche, and he only seems to be getting better. A year after he scored 55 goals and racked up 50 assists during the 2022-23 campaign, Rantanen followed it up by scoring 42 goals and dishing out 62 assists last season.
Add in his 92-point outing in the 2021-22 season, and that's three straight years of 90-plus points from the Finnish phenom. Considering how he's only set to turn 28 in October, Rantanen still has quite a few good years of hockey left in him, so if he somehow ends up hitting the open market, he will have quite a few suitors for his services.
A $12 million AAV is a massive figure in the NHL, and that would put Rantanen right around the same figure as fellow superstar teammate Nathan MacKinnon. When you add in the fact that Cale Makar is making $9 million per year on his current deal, that means the Avalanche would be using quite a bit of their cap space on three players.
When you have players of this caliber, though, you do what you can to keep them in town for as long as possible. This core group has already won one Stanley Cup together, and it's not a stretch to expect them to get another if they all stick around in Colorado. That will depend on the front office's desire to shell out a huge chunk of change for Rantanen, and if he has another strong campaign this year, it could make an already difficult situation even tougher for the Avalanche.