The Colorado Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in late-January. The Hurricanes were not able to come to an agreement with Rantanen on a long-term extension, and had been looking for a trade partner.
It was rumoured early on that Rantanen could be traded because of a lack of an extension with the Hurricanes. They were looking for a trade partner. They have found one in the Dallas Stars.
Yep, that Dallas Stars. The same Dallas Stars that are in the Avalanche’s division. Dallas won the first of three matchups this season while Colorado came away with a 6-3 win in their second meeting.
As if there wasn’t enough rivalry going on between the two teams (at least to me), the addition of Rantanen could be the beginning of a different type of rivalry; A rivalry that has Rantanen spelling “payback” to his former club who decided against paying him the big money. I do think that the Avalanche made the right decision and it was obvious when we got to see Martin Necas play.
Some thought that it would take some time for Necas to fit in on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon, but Necas has been stellar. It has come apparent that Rantanen might have been a product of the Nathan MacKinnon line. He had just two goals and four assists in 13 games in Carolina, while Necas has five goals and 10 assists in 14 games with the Avalanche.
When Rantanen was with the Avalanche, it was rumoured that he wanted to be paid more than MacKinnon. That really wasn’t going to happen, obviously. With that, his new deal is for eight years at $12 million, while MacKinnon has an AAV of $12.6 million. If you’re into the NFL, that difference might not seem large. It is pretty significant when it comes to the NHL, especially due to the large difference in the salary cap between the two leagues.
Now, Rantanen gets to “stick it” to the Avalanche three times a year, until he is 36-years-old. Well, unless something happens where they can move off of him before then.
This could end up being a really fun rivalry. The Avalanche players loved Rantanen and they know that business is business.
MacKinnon and Makar (who’s going to receive a big contract at some point) get to catch up with their old friend several times a season. They did get to catch up at the 4 Nations Faceoff, too. It’s going to be an epic battle each time the Avalanche and Stars take the ice together.