Rantanen Huge Offer in Free Agency Means Trouble for Avs

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun notes that Mikko Rantanen believes he’ll get a huge offer in free agency, which is trouble for the Avalanche.

With both Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner scheduled to hit free agency at the end of this season, there is some talk about what each player is going to try and get on their next respective deals. Pierre LeBrun spoke about it on the latest TSN Insider Trading and dropped a big bit of news, specifically when it comes to Rantanen.

He explained:

“By the way, it’s not out of the question, but if you ask me I think it’s more likely each of these players ends up signing an extension and staying put. However, the road there I don’t think will be easy and the reason for that is I think both the Avalanche with Nathan McKinnon at 12.6 million a year and the Leafs with captain Austin Matthews at 13.25 million a year certainly have sort of an internal cap that I believe has been, or will be cited in negotiations.”

Rantanen and Marner’s agents might have other ideas. LeBrun noted that internal caps are not an actual rule in the CBA and the agents in question represent Rantanen and Marner have some counter-arguments.

He noted that first, those extensions were signed and since then the salary cap landscape has changed dramatically. ” The cap is going way up here over the next few years,” he said. Second, those agents for sure will talk about the percentage of the cap, not necessarily the actual cap hit.

Rantanen Wants $14 Million in Free Agency, Hints LeBrun

LeBrun then said that Rantanen and his agent believe he can make 14 million on the open market. That could pose issues for the Avalanche in terms of getting an extension done. How much he’s willing to back off of that ask to stay with the Avs isn’t clear.

It will be intriguing to see how all sides juggle the rising cap, the internal numbers of the team’s respective top stars, and what the market will present to both players.