Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes swap problematic contracts
Martin Necas had been the subject of trade speculation throughout the offseason. Necas was an RFA and was likely headed to arbitration. The two sides avoided the drama by agreeing on a two-year deal with an AAV of $6.5 million.
However, that situation didn’t really solve the problem for the Hurricanes. Necas still needs a long-term contract and Carolina didn’t seem willing to give it to him. The Necas trade rumors never truly went away but seemed to quiet down as he played well with the Canes.
But times change. The Avalanche and Rantanen were apparently well over $1 million per season, suggesting that Rantanen likely wanted somewhere around $13 million per season. That would have exceeded MacKinnon’s cap hit of $12.6 million.
Now, we could argue that the Avs could have topped up MacKinnon’s next contract to surpass Rantanen. However, MacKinnon’s deal is up in 2031. That’s just too far away.
The Edmonton Oilers were willing to pay Leon Draisaitl more than Connor McDavid as Connor McDavid’s contract will be up after next season. Then, the Oilers can make McDavid the highest-paid player in the league.
But that wasn’t going to be the case in Colorado. So, the Avs took advantage of the situation in Carolina. I have no sources for what I’m about to say, but likely Carolina called Chris MacFarland and Patrik Allvin at the same time.
While Carolina GM Eric Tulski was working the phones with the Canucks, he likely had the Avalanche on hold. If the Elias Pettersson deal had gone through, Rantanen would have stayed in Colorado. Instead, the Pettersson deal fell through for Carolina, and MacFarland pulled the trigger on the deal for Rantanen.
But I will say this: The asking price went up for Carolina as soon as their deal with Vancouver fell through. By the way, the Avs can easily afford Necas. With the cap going up, the Avalanche can pay Necas the $9 million or so Carolina didn't want to give him.