Rantanen still unsigned; Johnson back on ice
Restricted free agent Mikko Rantanen did not participate in Avalanche captain’s practice Thursday, a possible bargaining chip as negotiations for a new contract drag on.
Rantanen, a 22-year-old All-Star who has 209 points in 239 career games, is among a handful of high-end restricted free agents coming out of their entry-level contracts, and the first one to sign is expected to establish the market for the others. Toronto’s Mitch Marner and Braydon Point of Tampa Bay are Rantanen’s closest comparisons, and all three could miss some, if not all, of training camp and preseason.
“There’s a lot of guys in the same boat as Mikko,” Avs defenseman Erik Johnson told The Denver Post on Thursday. “I think once one guy signs, the rest will fall into place. It’s just a waiting game. Mikko is definitely toptier … Maybe guys are waiting for him. Maybe he’s waiting for Marner. It would be nice to have him at camp, if it gets done, but we can’t control that. We just have to get ready to start the season and we hope he’s here. If not, that’s the business side of it that you can’t control.”
Thursday’s players-only skate at Family Sports Center is considered mandatory for those who can make it. Nathan MacKinnon and newcomer Nazem Kadri were excused to wrap up their Sidney Crosby-led camp in Vail.
While Rantanen’s contract situation remains murky, if not ugly, Johnson was a surprise full participant Thursday. The alternate captain had offseason shoulder surgery. In June, the team said there was a chance he would begin 2019-20 on injured reserve.
But Johnson said he is close to 100 percent and, barring a setback, he’ll be ready for the Oct. 3 opener against Calgary at the Pepsi Center.
“Lots of rehab. But I’m good now,” he said. Johnson revealed that he injured his left shoulder in November last season, and chose to play through the pain and discomfort instead of having season-ending surgery. He said a shoulder brace limited his range of motion — including his ability to poke-check with his top (left) hand.
“You just suck it up and make the best of it, you know?” Johnson said. “It’s good to be back to myself, that’s for sure, so I’ll be ready for Game 1.”
As for the Avs’ many offseason moves, including acquiring forwards Kadri and Andre Burakovsky in trades and others in free agency, Johnson said he’s thrilled to begin the season feeling like a Stanley Cup contender.
“So pumped. This is probably the deepest team we’ve had since I’ve been here — forwards, D, we’re young and fast,” he said. “We’re expected on the outside now to be a contender but I don’t think that changes what we’ve believed in our room. Just because the outside expectations changed, it doesn’t mean ours have changed. It’s business as usual.
“The only difference is more people expected big things out of us.”
Footnotes.
Avalanche rookie camp begins Friday at Family Sports, when the veterans will again skate separately. … Johnson said forward Colin Wilson also had major offseason shoulder surgery. Wilson did not skate with the veterans Thursday. Defenseman Ian Cole (double offseason hip surgeries) remains out indefinitely.