Central Notes: Rantanen, Nichushkin, Hellebuyck, Crouse
All signs indicate the Colorado Avalanche will enter the 2024-25 regular season without an extension ironed out with one of their star forwards, Mikko Rantanen. The organization isn’t concerned about Rantanen reaching unrestricted free agency next summer with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports reporting general manager Chris MacFarland isn’t worried about the negotiations.
Rantanen has been one of the most underappreciated players in the league over the last several years scoring 242 goals and 579 points in 486 games since 2017-18 with an additional five goals and 25 points in 20 games during Colorado’s run to the Stanley Cup in 2022. He hasn’t received as much attention as teammates Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar on the national stage but he’s become an integral part of the Avalanche’s success.
His camp will likely use Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl‘s new eight-year, $112MM extension as a starting point and work down from there. Draisaitl has averaged 0.16 more points a game than Rantanen since the 2017-18 season with an Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award. He will certainly increase his current $9.25MM salary but Colorado will attempt to keep him under MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.
Other Central notes:
- MacFarland also gave a small update on Valeri Nichushkin who is still away from the team due to his six-month suspension last season (X Link). Nichushkin can return to the ice with the Avalanche on November 13th, 2024 but general manager MacFarland shares that he expects Nichushkin to return to Denver sometime toward the end of October. The team continues to work through his reintegration process back to the NHL but all signs have been positive up to this point.
- Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been away from the Winnipeg Jets because of personal reasons. The absence isn’t expected to carry over into the regular season with TSN’s John Lu reporting he will return to practice with the team on Wednesday and will be the opening night starter tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers.
- The Utah Hockey Club has already laid out its leadership hierarchy to start the year by naming Clayton Keller the first captain in franchise history. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported earlier the team has named Lawson Crouse an ‘associate captain’ for the 2024-25 regular season which is an interesting designation. Most teams refer to players wearing an ‘A’ on their jerseys as ‘alternate captains’ unlike what Utah has done with Crouse.
Avalanche Notes: Rantanen, Landeskog, Lehkonen, Annunen
When asked about a potential contract extension, star Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen has shared that he plans to stay in Denver for the foreseeable future and that the business side of things will sort itself out, per Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports.
Rantanen is coming off yet another career year, posting 42 goals and 104 points – just one point shy of the career high he sent last season, though he played in two fewer games this year. He’s emerged as the clear 1B to Nathan MacKinnon‘s 1A – giving Colorado one of the most formidable top lines in the league. Rantanen has climbed to 617 points in 570 career games – with 301 of those points coming in the last three seasons alone. He seems focused on repeating the dominant scoring this season, confident that a new deal with Avalanche will come to fruition when necessary.
Other notes out of the Mile High City:
- Head coach Jared Bednar spoke with the media ahead of Colorado’s start to training camp and among the updates, shared that there’s no news on team captain Gabriel Landeskog per Deen. Bednar mentioned that Landeskog has made big strides but that the situation remains up in the air. He hasn’t played since June of 2022, supporting Colorado’s run to the 2022 Stanley Cup after a trio of injury-shortened seasons. He’s an incredibly effective scorer when he plays, scoring 30 goals and 59 points in 51 games in his most recent season. That’s the production that fans have come to expect from their captain, leading Landeskog to 571 points across 738 career games. There’s hope that he can return to the top flight soon, though it seems he’ll need to overcome more hurdles before he’s back in the NHL.
- Winger Artturi Lehkonen isn’t expected to attend training camp as he continues recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery in May, shares Meghan Angley of The DNVR.com. Lehkonen only appeared in 45 games last season, but still managed an admirable 16 goals and 34 points. He’s flashed strong scoring over the last three seasons, totaling 123 points in 183 games split between Montreal and Colorado. He’ll sit out of the team’s training camp, hoping to return to a solid lineup role once he’s healthy.
- Bednar also shared high remarks for top goalie prospect Justus Annunen, sharing that he could eat into starter Alexandar Georgiev‘s workload, shares Angley. Georgiev has played in 125 games over the last two seasons, recording a modest 78 wins and .908 save percentage. Annunen split time between the NHL and AHL last season, posting an impressive .928 save percentage in the outings. He emerged as a top-end AHL starter in 2022-23, with 22 wins and a .916 save percentage in 41 appearances. It’s not clear how the Avalanche will platoon their netminders this year, but Annunen’s recent success could be too much for Colorado to ignore.
Evening Notes: Rantanen, Binnington, Sundqvist
Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now writes about the impact that Leon Draisaitl’s new contract will have on Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen’s next deal. The 27-year-old Rantanen shares an agent with Draisaitl but appears unlikely to match the $14MM AAV that Draisaitl recently agreed to. David Pastrnak’s contract is probably a good comparable for Rantanen, but as Rawal points out, that deal was signed a year and a half ago and the cap has gone up since then and will likely go up again next season.
Rantanen is coming off back-to-back 100+ point seasons and has scored 97 goals in the past two seasons. Given that he plays in Colorado, the Avalanche will likely want to keep his AAV under the $12.6MM that Nathan MacKinnon signed for in September 2022.
In other evening notes:
- Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes about St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington and whether he will play out the final three years of his contract in St. Louis. Rutherford believes that if Binnington plays well for the next couple of seasons and keeps the team in the playoff hunt then the team will likely keep him through the end of his deal (or close to the end of it). However, if Binnington’s play drops off, or if backup Joel Hofer is ready to play, Rutherford could foresee St. Louis turning to their young backup to anoint him the team’s starter, regardless of whether they keep or trade Binnington.
- Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes that Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist began skating again after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL on March 25th. Sundqvist was supposed to be evaluated at the end of September and it is encouraging to see him skating this early. St. Louis is expected to have several young forward prospects challenge for roles this fall at training camp but given that Sundqvist was just re-signed to a two-year deal, it’s likely he will start the season in the NHL if he is healthy enough to do so. The 30-year-old signed a two-year, $3MM deal in March and posted six goals and 15 assists in 71 games before the injury.
Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen Expected To Ramp Up Extension Talks Soon
The Colorado Avalanche have already engaged in extension talks with 2025-pending free agent Mikko Rantanen, though the star winger expects talks will gain a lot more momentum when the team comes back together. He spoke about next season and his looming contract with the Finnish news outlet Turan Sanomat, and his remarks were translated by Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now. Per Rawal, Rantanen said, “We’ve already started a little, but we haven’t had any intensive discussions yet. They will surely speed up here in time.” Rantanen went on to share his excitement for next year’s 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026’s Winter Olympics.
Rantanen is one of many stars entering the last year of their contracts, but few have made such a statement about their current deals. Rantanen signed his current deal – a six-year, $55MM contract – in 2019 after recording the second 80-point season of his then three-year career. It was clear that he was set for stardom, and while fans had to wait through injuries and COVID-19 limiting seasons, the star Finn finally showed his strength in Colorado’s pursuit of the 2022 Stanley Cup. He was perhaps the most influential player on the roster, second to Nathan MacKinnon, scoring a career-high 36 goals and 92 points in 75 regular season games, then adding 25 points in 20 postseason games. The performance proved everyone’s suspicions – that Rantanen, even at a $9.25MM cap hit, was likely underpaid. He’s only continued to improve in the years since, posting a new career-high of 55 goals and 105 points last season, then returning for 42 goals and 104 points this year.
Rantanen compliments his sky-high scoring with great off-puck physicality and an appreciation for defense. Those traits place Rantanen as both a pillar of the Avalanche lineup and their biggest to-do ahead of the 2025 summer. But finding a price won’t be easy, especially given the lack of precedent for such a high-scorer. Oilers’ star Leon Draisaitl seems like the best comparable, though he’s in his own round of extension negotiations. Early rumors have placed Draisaitl’s next deal around $12.5MM. That could provide Colorado with a helpful baseline should Draisaitl sign soon, though it’s likely that Edmonton is watching Rantanen’s negotiations with the same scrutiny.
While the two sides sort through a standoff with their secondary stars, Rantanen will look to continue his domination of the NHL’s Western Conference. He emphasized to the Turan Sanomat that his goal is to only get faster and stronger, saying, “In the NHL, the game is going faster all the time, and as a result, Explosiveness is a big part of how the game is developing. You can’t forget that there are 82 games in the regular season. So you have to have endurance, and you have to be strong in struggles.”
West Notes: Mercer, Rantanen, Oilers
The Wild have invited undrafted free agent goalie Riley Mercer to next month’s rookie camp, reports Mike Morreale of NHL.com. Mercer, the younger brother of Devils RFA forward Dawson Mercer, was passed over in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 drafts but came into his own in his final season of junior hockey last year with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs.
The 20-year-old Newfoundland native took over as the Voltigeurs’ starter for the first time in 2023-24, posting a 2.83 GAA and .905 SV% with two shutouts and a 31-13-4 record in 49 appearances. But he erupted in the playoffs, taking over with a shining 1.89 GAA and .934 SV% in 19 games as Drummondville won the QMJHL championship.
Mercer, who stands at 6’2″ and 205 lbs, hasn’t inked a professional contract for this season. He’s technically eligible to return to the Voltigeurs for an overage season, but CHL clubs are limited to three overagers on their roster at any given time and tend not to use those slots on goaltenders.
An entry-level contract with the Wild out of rookie camp is impossible but unlikely. However, a decent showing could earn him a deal with their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, or their ECHL affiliate, the Iowa Heartlanders. It would be a tough numbers game, though, as the organization has seven goalies under contract across the three leagues already (five NHL deals, one AHL deal, and one ECHL deal).
More out of the Western Conference today:
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman chimed into the summer discourse today with a quick-hit edition of his “32 Thoughts” podcast, mentioning, among other topics, that there’s a strong sense around the league that the Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen won’t have any issues coming to terms on an extension. “You start to do your planning a year out,” Friedman said. “They’re starting to take Draisaitl off their boards because they think that’s going to get done in Edmonton, and I had some teams tell me they don’t have any reason to believe, right now, that Rantanen is going to be a hard one to get done either. We’ll see where that goes” (hat tip to Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now). As things stand, Rantanen would be the consensus No. 2 player on the 2025 UFA market behind Draisaitl. The 27-year-old winger remained over the 100-point threshold in 2023-24, posting 42 goals and 62 assists in 80 games. An eight-year extension would feasibly eclipse the $11MM mark per year, a decent raise on his current $9.25MM AAV.
- The Oilers should match the Blues’ two-year, $4.58MM offer sheet for Dylan Holloway but let Philip Broberg walk for his two-year, $9.16MM offer, argues Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required). Among other reasons, the likelihood of Holloway being worth his $2.29MM cap hit this season is much higher than Broberg providing fair value for his $4.58MM price tag, especially for a pair of former first-rounders at similar spots in their development.
Central Notes: Rantanen, Capuano, Hakanpaa, O’Connor
Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen will be eligible for a contract extension on July 1st, giving the team more to worry about than just their nine pending free agents. A new deal won’t come cheap either, shares Corey Masisak of The Denver Post, who compared Rantanen’s extension talks to David Pastrnak, who signed an eight-year, $90MM contract with the Boston Bruins in March of 2023. Pastrnak’s deal carries $9MM in signing bonuses and $26MM in total salary in the first two seasons alone – a price that’d be hard to stomach for an Avalanche team set to pay Nathan MacKinnon $16MM and $12.15MM in salary over the next two seasons. They’ll be helped along by Cale Makar’s team-friendly – relative to his talent – cap hit of $9MM, but he’ll offer another headache when he’s eligible for a new deal in 2027.
Rantanen recorded the second 100-point season of his career this year, though he fell one point shy of the career-high 105 points he posted last year. He’s proven to be one of the best wingers in the league and an integral piece of the Avalanche lineup, with Masisak noting Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland’s desire to build around a core of MacKinnon, Rantanen, Makar, and Devon Toews. The Avalanche have three of those pieces locked up through the 2026-27 campaign – though they’ll need to be ready to shell out a pretty penny to do it.
Other notes from around the league:
- Free agent coach Jack Capuano could be a candidate for the Minnesota Wild’s open assistant coaching position, shares Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Ottawa Senators chose not to re-sign Capuano to his associate coach contract this summer, bringing an end to his five-year career with the team. Russo spoke to Capuano’s long history with new Wild head coach John Hynes. That could be a useful connection as he looks to join the fourth team of his NHL coaching career.
- Dallas Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa won’t be joining the team on their trip to Edmonton for Game 6, shares Owen Newkirk of the Dallas Stars Radio (Twitter link). Hakanpaa is set to miss his 32nd-straight game with a lower-body injury suffered in March. The Stars will be eager for Hakanpaa’s return, should it come this postseason, as they sort through questionable defense depth from Nils Lundkvist, Derrick Pouliot, and Lian Bichsel. Dallas is also facing a potential injury to top defender Chris Tanev, who exited Game 4 after blocking a shot from Evander Kane, but returned for Game 5. Whether he’s playing with good health or playoff resiliency, the Stars now won’t be able to bolster the depth behind Tanev until at least Game 7.
- Colorado Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor is recovering well after undergoing hip surgery and should be ready for the 2024-25 training camp, shares Misisak (Twitter link). O’Connor missed the final 19 games of the regular season with his lower-body injury – though he’ll reflect on the season as a strong one, having scored at the highest rate of his career with 25 points in 57 games, while averaging a career-high 14:57 in ice time.
Central Notes: Rantanen, Wood, Krug, Niederreiter, Levis
It appears as if the Avalanche will get their top winger back in the lineup for a key divisional matchup on Saturday against Winnipeg. NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding relays (Twitter link) that Mikko Rantanen is listed as probable for that contest after missing the last week while being in concussion protocol. The 27-year-old is within striking distance of setting a new career-high in points as he has 102 through 77 games so far; he had 105 in 2022-23.
Meanwhile, Boulding added that winger Miles Wood is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s contest. The 28-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him out for the last week. In his first season with Colorado after inking a six-year, $15MM contract in free agency, Wood has nine goals and 15 assists in 72 games while averaging a little under 14 minutes a night.
More from the Central:
- Blues defenseman Torey Krug left Wednesday’s game versus Chicago with an undisclosed injury and it caused him to miss tonight’s game against Carolina at a minimum. Per NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link), he’s listed as out day-to-day and the team will assess on Saturday if he’ll be available to suit up on Sunday. The 33-year-old has put up 39 points through 77 games and with St. Louis still battling for the final playoff spot, they’d certainly like to have the veteran back as soon as possible.
- Jets winger Nino Niederreiter will miss his fifth straight game on Saturday as he works his way back from a cut, notes team reporter Mitchell Clinton. The 31-year-old has been a capable secondary scorer in his first full season with Winnipeg, collecting 18 goals and 15 assists through 75 games. Head coach Rick Bowness indicated that they’re just being cautious with Niederreiter and that they’re planning on him suiting up on Tuesday.
- Still with the Jets, their AHL affiliate announced that they’ve signed Connor Levis to an ATO deal. The 19-year-old center was a seventh-round pick last year (210th overall). Levis split this season between WHL Kamloops and Vancouver, tallying 21 goals and 34 assists in 55 games while adding three assists in five playoff contests. With the Giants now eliminated, Levis is now free to finish the season in the minors.
Colorado Avalanche Reassign Chris Wagner
Earlier this morning, the Colorado Avalanche announced the organization has reassigned forward Chris Wagner to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. While an otherwise unremarkable transaction, the reassignment of Wagner points to the return of Mikko Rantanen to the lineup.
While Rantanen has been out for the team’s last two games due to a concussion, Wagner has been with the team for the better part of two weeks, playing in four of the team’s last five games. In those four contests, Wanger has averaged 6:45 of ice time over 46 shifts, scoring one goal in total.
Before signing a one-year, $775K contract extension with the Avalanche a few days ago, Wagner had primarily been playing in AHL Colorado but has been an oft-called-upon depth forward at the NHL level. Over 13 games with the Avalanche this season, Wagner has scored one goal and two points overall, while also scoring four goals and eight points over 17 games with the Eagles.
With respect to Wagner, Colorado will be more than happy to get Rantanen back into the lineup with three games remaining in the regular season. The Avalanche’s schedule will not get any easier down the stretch after losing an important contest against the Dallas Stars this past weekend. In hopes of earning a fourth-straight Division title, Colorado lines up against the Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, and Edmonton Oilers to close out their regular season.
West Notes: Demko, Dunn, McCann, Rantanen
The Vancouver Canucks welcomed starting goaltender Thatcher Demko back to practice on Tuesday and could return him to the lineup as soon as Saturday, head coach Rick Tocchet shares with TSN’s Farhan Lalji (Twitter link). Demko is currently on Vancouver’s long-term injured reserve with a knee injury. He hasn’t played since March 9th, missing Vancouver’s last 12 games.
While Tocchet added that the team wants to be careful in easing Demko back in, there’s no doubting they’re ecstatic to have him back in time for playoffs. Demko’s success has been a big part of the Canucks’ climb up the standings, with the 28-year-old posting 34 wins and a .917 save percentage across 49 appearances this season. He ranks third in the league in wins and fifth in save percentage, among starting goalies.
Demko’s strong performances this season have continued his ascension, with the three-year starter in a good position to receive Vezina Trophy votes for just the second time in his career – joining his seventh-place finish in 2022, after he posted 33 wins and a .915 save percentage in 64 games. But he’ll have bigger goals in mind, with Vancouver poised to make the playoffs for just the third time since 2014.
Other notes from around the league:
- Both Jared McCann and Vince Dunn will miss the Seattle Kraken’s Tuesday game against the Arizona Coyotes, per team reporter Alison Lukan (Twitter link). Head coach Dave Hakstol shared that both players remain day-to-day, with McCann facing a lower-body injury and Dunn nursing an upper-body injury. The pair have been highly impactful this year, each ranked in the top-three of scoring in Seattle, with McCann boasting a team-leading 60 points in 75 games while Dunn has 46 points in 59 games.
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has shared that forward Mikko Rantanen could return on Saturday, per Ryan Boulding of NHL.com (Twitter link). The star winger has been in concussion protocol after taking a heavy hit from Edmonton Oilers defesneman Mattias Ekholm on Friday. Rantanen eclipsed the 100-point mark for the second-straight seaosn this year, currently carrying 40 goals and 102 points through 77 games.
Evening Notes: Sergachev, Pitlick, Wood, Rantanen
Tampa Bay Lightning reporter Chris Krenn tweeted that Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev skated today in a non-contact jersey but added that head coach Jon Cooper cautioned people to not expect him to return for the first round of the playoffs. Cooper said that if the Lightning were to make it deep in the playoffs, he could return to the lineup, but he was happy to have him skating with the group.
The 25-year-old has played just once since December 19th and has been out of the lineup since fracturing his tibia and fibula back on February 7th in his first game back after suffering a foot injury that kept him out of the lineup for nearly two months.
In 34 games this season, Sergachev has recorded two goals and 17 assists but is a -16.
In other evening notes:
- Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times tweeted that the conditional 2026 seventh-round pick that the Chicago Blackhawks sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for depth forward Rem Pitlick carried the condition of Pitlick playing 30 NHL games and will not be sent to the Penguins. Pitlick has only dressed in nine games for Chicago, meaning the Blackhawks will keep their pick for the 2026 draft. The Penguins were likely okay with losing Pitlick for nothing as he was collecting a $1.1MM salary while playing for their AHL affiliate.
- Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that the Colorado Avalanche will be without forwards Miles Wood and Mikko Rantanen for tomorrow night’s game against Minnesota. Wood will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury and is mired in a 23-game goalless drought. In his first season with Colorado the 28-year-old has nine goals and 15 assists in 72 games. Rantanen on the other hand may skate with the team in the morning but will not play. He is reportedly feeling better after being in concussion protocol and missing last night’s game as well. Rantanen has topped 100 points for the second consecutive season as he has 40 goals and 62 assists in 77 games this season.