While some young stars have acted quickly in signing a contract extension, others have decided that they’d be better off waiting to sign until next summer. It appears that Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen will fall into the latter category as GM Joe Sakic told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that Rantanen’s camp would prefer to shelve extension talks and instead hammer out a new deal after the season. That means he will play out his rookie deal (which carries a cap hit of $894K plus a potential $1.628MM in performance bonuses) and become a restricted free agent without salary arbitration rights next summer.
Considering the extreme difference in the 21-year-old’s production over his first two full NHL seasons, this isn’t an entirely surprising outcome. Last year, Rantanen was among the top wingers of the league, tallying 29 goals and 55 assists and playing a crucial role in Colorado going from the league basement to a playoff spot. However, he was nowhere near as productive in his rookie campaign although he still posted decent numbers with 20 goals and 18 helpers.
That significant jump in his production certainly makes Rantanen’s case tricky. Is he a point-per-game player for the foreseeable future or is he more likely to take a step back in 2018-19? (And if so, how big of one?) Colorado would certainly be looking to hedge their bets to commit now while Rantanen’s side would be looking to argue that his performance last season is a sign of things to come. At least by waiting, there should be a bit more certainty about his scoring upside.
What will be interesting to watch for is if Colorado pushes to fit Rantanen at or below Nathan MacKinnon’s $6.3MM cap hit. The center is their franchise player and there’s an argument to make that his AAV should be the ceiling for any other player on the team. However, the salary cap has also gone up considerably since then so that inflation has to be factored in. At any rate, the Finn will be assuredly heading for a significant raise on his next contract. He’ll just have to wait another six months or more to find out what that pay increase will ultimately be.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.