The Colorado Avalanche are off to the worst possible start in 2024/25, and now a contract issue with Mikko Rantanen could help this locker room fall apart.
After four games this season, the Colorado Avalanche sit at 0-4-0, dead last in the entire NHL, a place that no one expected this star studded unit to be. While they are dealing with plenty of injuries, this is a team that still has the likes of Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, but unfortunately they just haven't been able to mesh in 2024/25.
The biggest current problem with the team is their goaltending, with Alexandar Georgiev posting an .803 save percentage alongside a GAA of 5.79, making this team the worst in the NHL. Now, another problem threatens to take down the locker room, as Mikko Rantanen and the front office are reportedly at an impasse during contract negotiations, with the team not wanting his AAV on his next deal to approach MacKinnon's at $12.6 million, while No. 96 wants a deal close to that.
That comes from reporter Nick Kypreos in the Toronto Star, and with the locker room on edge, Rantanen specifically not getting paid close to MacKinnon may become another issue entirely, with the future of this team currently up in the air. Rantanen will officially become a UFA following this season, and unless the team turn it around in a hurry, he could test the waters of free agency, and if they continue to struggle, a trade could loom large, but for now, the future in Colorado is very murky indeed.
