NHL Trade Rumors: $55,500,000 Colorado Avalanche winger's extension may force Avs to make sacrifices

The Colorado Avalanche's talented winger Mikko Rantanen's potential re-signing has gained significant attention as the team works to establish itself as an NHL contender. Fans and observers are debating whether the Colorado Avalanche can afford a $10 million-plus yearly salary for all three players including, Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen.

The Athletic's Peter Baugh was asked a question in his Colorado Avalanche mailbag regarding Mikko Rantanen’s contract extension:

"It kinda feels like we’ve gotta start talking about what it’s going to take to re-sign Mikko Rantanen at some point. Can this team really afford to be paying $10 million-plus annual salaries to Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko? Even if we can, should we spread the wealth out evenly a little more?" — Mike K.

Baugh said:

“It’s important to remember the salary cap will go up in the coming years. Players making more than $10 million annually will be more and more common. The Avalanche will be able to afford Rantanen, who has two years left on his deal, but it might require making sacrifices in other areas of the roster.”

Baugh considers every sacrifice to be made from the Colorado Avalanche’s end to keep such hockey prospects like Rantanen, who is the $55.5 million contract center with a cap hit of $9.25 million, absolutely worth it. He added:

“That’s likely worth it to keep a core of him, Makar and MacKinnon together. Colorado isn’t going to get a player of Rantanen’s caliber for less money on the open market.”

Peter Baugh compared the Colorado Avalanche to the Bay Lightning by setting an example of how the Tampa Bay Lightning’s roster makes it clear that the team was able to win the Stanley Cup in 2021, despite having a number of players whose contracts used up more than 10% of the salary cap ceiling like Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos.

He also emphasized the significance of talent spotting and the development of the player in creating a strong supporting cast for expensive stars in the NHL.

Is the Colorado Avalanche a good fit for UFA Phil Kessel?

The Colorado Avalanche are in a good spot for acquiring Phil Kessel since they have access to a large number of unrestricted free-agent forwards. The Avalanche's current objective of increasing their depth up front fits in well with Kessel's well-established skill sets in both playmaking and goal-scoring.

Kessel is an especially fascinating possibility for the Avalanche because of his potential chemistry with top players like Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche look forward to gaining from Kessel's ability to complement the playing styles of these dynamic players by putting him in a second-line position. For both fans and observers, the idea of such a trio working together is definitely thrilling.