AVALANCHE:
It’s just a matter of time before Rantanen becomes the team’s highest-paid player.
Mikko Rantanen and the Avalanche will remain married. It’s just a matter of time before the big Finn becomes Colorado’s toppaid player.
Rantanen, 22, is among the best of the best in a mighty fine class of restricted free agents that includes Toronto’s Mitch Marner, Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point, Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk, Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine of Winnipeg, and Vancouver’s Brock Boeser. They each are in their early 20s and coming out of their entrylevel contracts (ELC).
Because of their salary demands and their club’s lack of salary cap space, some might get traded, but Rantanen is not one of them.
Rantanen wants to remain an Av, and the franchise is willing to pay him more than 2018 Hart Trophy finalist and linemate Nathan Mackinnon — Colorado’s toppaid player with a $6.3 million annual cap hit.
That likely means the all-star right winger will make between $8 million and $10 million annually as one-third of what many believe is the best line in the NHL.
The club has said it will match any RFA offer sheet other teams make, something it can easily do thanks to its available cap space. That’s a luxury many other franchises don’t have.
The Maple Leafs, for instance, have just $3.7 million of cap space (plus long-term injury reserve wiggle room from Nathan Horton) to sign Marner, who is requesting to become Toronto’s third $11 million forward along with Auston Matthews and John Tavares. So folks in Toronto are concerned about losing Marner or another primary piece in a trade for draft picks or prospects.
Vancouver, Tampa Bay and Calgary also have cap concerns, with each having less than $10 million left to spend, according to CapFriendly.com.
The Avs have no such worries, with nearly $16.5 million to spend on Rantanen and modest deals due to forwards Vladislav Kamenev, A.J. Greer and Sheldon Dries. Rantanen could sign for $10 million and Colorado would still have around $4 million in cap room to start the season.
Colorado general manager Joe Sakic said July 1 that Mackinnon has accepted the fact he will no longer be the club’s top-paid player.
Mackinnon signed a sevenyear, $44.1 million deal on his entry-level contract in 2016. At the time, he was coming off two subpar seasons. The $6.3 million annual deal looked good then for the Avs and looks even better now that he has risen to superstar status (partly thanks to linemates Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog) and is considered underpaid.
NHL contracts cannot be torn up and re-written, however, and extensions can only occur after July 1 heading into the final year of the deal. So Mackinnon must live with his contract for four more years while Rantanen makes $2 million to $4 million more.
“Nathan just wants to win,” Sakic said. “It’s a different landscape right now than just a few years ago. That’s where all these restricted free agents are going now … That’s just the way the league has gone the last couple of years. The contracts have gone up, and there are new structures for all these players.”
Sakic said he met with Rantanen’s agent, Michael Liut, during the NHL draft June 22-23.
“Sit back and relax and wait for him to get back to me. Nothing urgent. Training camp’s not until Sept. 12 or 13,” Sakic said. “I think the more guys that get signed and you see the comparable numbers, the easier it’s going to get.”
Many believe Marner will begin the domino effect. But TSN insider Darren Dreger told The Post the wait is on.
“I do know Rantanen and a number of other top RFAS are waiting for Marner to get something done to establish a playing field,” Dreger said. “However, as of this morning (Thursday) in a conversation with a source, it’s status quo with Marner and the Maple Leafs and the waiting game continues.”