It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re just a couple of weeks away from the start of training camp later this month. This means general managers are in a frenzy to get some deals done. Some are getting key extensions done on some of their more well-known players. The Edmonton Oilers extended Leon Draisaitl to a massive eight-year deal earlier in the week. This edition of NHL rumours deals with the knock-on effect of this deal. The Colorado Avalanche and one star in particular are the focus of today’s rumours.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Colorado Avalanche Forward Extension Update
Rumour: Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now talks about how Mikko Rantanen will be affected by the Draisaitl extension. The 27-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Leon Draisaitl and Mikko Rantanen share the same agent.
After Draisaitl signed his extension on Tuesday, I expect the attention to turn to the Avalanche winger.https://t.co/5piS4VYHbd
— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) September 3, 2024
Analysis: Many in the hockey world were taken aback when the Oilers German superstar inked an eight-year pact at $14 million per season. There will most definitely be an effect on his teammate Connor McDavid. However, other players are going to feel the fallout of that massive contract.
Rantanen becomes a free agent at the end of season and is seeking a well-deserved raise. The Finnish forward makes $9.25 million and is hoping to at least get over $10 million in his next deal. However, how much will Avalanche Chris MacFarland go into the six figures?
The Price of Doing Business
Rantanen is coming off back-to-back 100-plus point seasons in Denver. There’s no doubt that he’s going to get that raise, but one wonders what the final cap hit will be.
One factor is that superstar Nathan MacKinnon is getting $12.6 million until the end of the 2030-31 season. MacFarland will likely try to slot Rantanen’s cap hit under that number for Colorado’s best player. Draisaitl and Rantanen share the same agent in Andy Scott.
If that’s the case, what will MacFarland use as a template for Rantanen’s next deal? Rawal does point out that there is model deal that Avs management can use to make a deal work.
A Bluechip Blueprint
Rawal stated that Colorado can use the David Pastrnak contract as a likely model for Rantanen’s next deal. The Boston Bruins and Czech forward came to a seemingly-friendly number of $11.25 million until the end of the 2030-31 campaign.
Pastrnak’s deal seems to hit the right notes for Colorado management. It rewards Rantanen for being a massive part of the team’s success and fits nicely under MacKinnon’s number.
However, the main issue is that deal was signed in March 2023. The cost of everything has gone up and the salary cap will likely make a another decent-sized jump. It’s almost a sure bet that Rantanen is going to reap the benefit of getting that nice bump in pay.
Rawal ultimately thinks that a hit of $12 million could be in the cards. One thing the Draisaitl deal proved is that superstars always get their money no matter what happens. Rantanen is likely going to get that money, but the main question is how close to MacKinnon will the cap number get.
Main photo by: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
