The Colorado Avalanche should expect to write some big numbers on Mikko Rantanen’s paycheques over the next several years once his three-year entry level contract expires at the end of this season. The 22-year-old Finnish forward has definitely shown general manager Joe Sakic he deserves the big bucks after his first two years in the league and a red hot start to his third campaign. The right-winger was drafted 10th overall by Colorado in 2015 while playing in is homeland. He played just nine pointless games for the team the next season while scoring 24 goals and 36 assists in 52 contests in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage. He was named to the league’s Second All-Star Team, the All-Rookie Team and also shared the AHL’s rookie of the year award that season.
Rantanen cracked the Avalanche lineup for good in 2016/17 and posted a team-high 20 goals along with 18 assists in 75 games. He improved on those numbers by racking up 29 goals and 59 assists for 84 points in 81 contests last year and finished 16th in league scoring. He was also the first Finnish player to reach 80 points since Teemu Selannne did it in 2006/07. Rantanen certainly didn’t cool off during the offseason as he was leading the NHL in scoring after 20 games this year with eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points as of November 19th. He was the first player to reach the 30-point barrier this year and the first Colorado/Quebec Nordique franchise player to score 30 points in 20 games since Sakic and Peter Forsberg achieved the feat in 1996/97.
Rantanen has led the league in scoring or has been tied for first most of the season as he’s been at the top of the hit parade since October 23rd. He has obviously formed an excellent working partnership with his linemate Nathan MacKinnon as MacKinnon was close behind Rantanen in scoring with 16 goals and 16 assists for 29 points after 20 games. Rantanen is one of the league’s biggest players at 6-feet-4-inches in height and 212 lbs, but he plays a very skillful game. He’s an excellent skater and playmaker with an exceptional pair of hands around the net.
His success isn’t really surprising though since Rantanen has excelled as an elite hockey player at every level he’s performed at, including internationally. He helped Finland win the World Junior Championships in 2016 and also won a silver medal with the senior squad at the IIHF World Championships the same year. Rantanen scored 28 points in 26 career games with the Finnish junior side and in 23 games with the senior team he has scored nine goals and 13 assists up to now.
The Avalanche would have been wise to sign Rantanen to a long-term contract before the 2018/19 season got underway. However, the player and his camp were willing to wait until the season ended as they were confident he’d enjoy another high-scoring campaign. There’s a good chance Rantanen will finish in the top five in the scoring race this year and he’ll have a lot of leverage when contract negotiations get under way. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and with the salary cap going up each year he’ll likely benefit by delaying contract talks.
Of course, there’s no guarantee Rantanen and Sakic will agree on his worth to the team though. The player doesn’t have arbitration rights and the pair will be at an impasse if they don’t see eye to eye. We’ve seen that exact same situation in Toronto this year as the Maple Leafs have yet to sign high-scoring forward William Nylander to a new contract. Sakic will need to open talks with Rantanen as soon as the player is ready since he’s far too important to the franchise to lose for any period of time. As the Leafs have found out, it often takes several weeks or even months to come to an agreement on a contract so the sooner Colorado begins negotiating with Rantanen the better.