NHL rumors: Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen in line for mammoth contract extension

The Colorado Avalanche are off to a rough start in the 2024-25 NHL season, having lost all three of their games so far. While it's still early, their winless start is already raising concerns. In the meantime, one of their cornerstone players is up for a contract extension and is in line for a major payday.

Forward Mikko Rantanen is in the final year of the six-year, $55.5 million deal that carries an AAV of $9.25 million. Rantanen's yearly salary is the second highest on the team behind the $12.5 million AAV of Nathan MacKinnon; the next highest belongs to star defenseman Cale Makar ($9 million AAV), followed by defenseman Devon Toews ($7.25 million AAV).

Avalanche general manager Chris McFarland has a considerable task ahead of him in order to get Rantanen signed while making it work under the restraints of the salary cap. But as he put it, it's not a situation that he's worried about , via The Fourth Period.

"No concern about it going into the season," MacFarland said. "These are not easy deals to do. There's the player obviously has the UFA right to go, and the club has to make smart decisions, both for the short-term and the long-term. So, we're not going to comment on it daily or weekly, when there's news, there's news."

Makar is up for a new contract in 2026, while the deal of struggling goaltender Alexander Georgiev ($3.4 million AAV) comes off the books in the summer of 2025. Additionally, defenseman Josh Manson's current deal ($4.5 million AAV) expires in the offseason.

The Avalanche face the Bruins on Wednesday night at Ball Arena in Denver, eager to secure their first win of the season and prevent their early struggles from snowballing further.

Mikko Rantanen is a cornerstone Avalanche player

Selected 10th overall by the Avalanche in the 2015 NHL Draft, Mikko Rantanen has established himself as a star. In his second NHL season (2017-18), he tallied 84 points in 81 games, increasing that to 87 points the following year.

In 2022-23 and 2023-24, Rantanen posted back-to-back 100-point seasons, with 105 and 104 points, respectively. He was also a key contributor during the Avalanche's 2022 Stanley Cup run, recording five goals and 20 assists as the team secured its first championship since 2001.

Over 570 career games, Rantanen has amassed 262 goals and 355 assists, with an additional 34 goals and 67 assists in 81 playoff games.