Speculation: 2025 Trade/Free Agency Thread

[Dr Johnny Fever]

As long as we're speculating, I wouldn't rule out a return to COL. He and his camp were surprised when he was traded. They didn't see it coming. With MacKinnon (already paid) and Makar (soon to be paid) it's obvious they won't pay very top dollar for Rantanen, but he claims he was willing to take a hometown discount to stay. Things never got that far before he was traded.

The idea that he will only sign for top dollar somewhere has no factual basis. Obviously he's not coming here or Chicago for less than ginormous money, but I doubt he signs anywhere that isn't some kind of contender. Would a guy like that, still in his (late) prime, really want to sign for 7 years with a crappy team just for a few more dollars? That's difficult for me to believe. And if he meant what he said about a hometown discount, I wouldn't rule out COL.

 

[robbieboy3686]

As long as we're speculating, I wouldn't rule out a return to COL. He and his camp were surprised when he was traded. They didn't see it coming. With MacKinnon (already paid) and Makar (soon to be paid) it's obvious they won't pay very top dollar for Rantanen, but he claims he was willing to take a hometown discount to stay. Things never got that far before he was traded.

The idea that he will only sign for top dollar somewhere has no factual basis. Obviously he's not coming here or Chicago for less than ginormous money, but I doubt he signs anywhere that isn't some kind of contender. Would a guy like that, still in his (late) prime, really want to sign for 7 years with a crappy team just for a few more dollars? That's difficult for me to believe. And if he meant what he said about a hometown discount, I wouldn't rule out COL.no chance ge goes back to the avs. You never know with these things, his wife and family might have told him that they want sunshine now and a bigger city. After all that time in the cold mountains. Also, we’re a team on the rise. Maybe to Ratenan Carolina is just another podunk town. And he wants more civilization

 

[McDonald19]

Hah, imagine.

As long as it’s with a signed contract. No rentals please.

 

[tomd]

Sign me up. The reason Terry wasn’t made captian let alone given a letter at all. I assume verbeek always felt that he might be the odd duck out/ and or the piece in a trade to upgrade. Between Leo, Zegras and Terry. That’s 1 or 2 vanilla core to many forwards for a guy like verbeek is my guess. Given Zegras has “ done what’s asked “
And is a center and younger. Definitely Terry goes before z

I don’t disagree assuming the add is reasonable and rantenan comes signed. But I still don’t see it happening for a lot of reasons.

 

[robbieboy3686]

I don’t disagree assuming the add is reasonable and rantenan comes signed. But I still don’t see it happening for a lot of reasons.

A guy like ratenan after being traded to Carolina and refusing to sign a deal there, the next place he’s shipped to, he gets signed is my guess. He won’t do that again. Just maybe what happens is, it’s a sign and trade so Carolina gets a bigger return.

 

[ScarTroy]

Sign me up. The reason Terry wasn’t made captian let alone given a letter at all. I assume verbeek always felt that he might be the odd duck out/ and or the piece in a trade to upgrade. Between Leo, Zegras and Terry. That’s 1 or 2 vanilla core to many forwards for a guy like verbeek is my guess. Given Zegras has “ done what’s asked “
And is a center and younger. Definitely Terry goes before z

You don’t 7x7 the odd man out.

 

[AngelDuck]

I dont think I would do Terry + a 1st for a signed Rantanen at all.

Terry is locked up at an extremely reasonable $7M for a long time. Is Rantanen that much better than him to justify giving up a first and paying him 6 million more per season? I’m extremely skeptical there

I would actually disagree with the board here and say that Zegras makes way more sense to trade then Terry. Like, it’s not even that close to me at this point.

Not only is Terry a better player but he’s locked up long term

 

[Boo Boo]

I think at the deadline I’d hold off on trading for Rantanen but at the draft when we know exactly where we are picking I’d trade our pick plus for a good player and then also make a pitch to rantanen or another good player at free agency.

I am just too wary of what the trade price would be especially given how he looks like he could be a poison pill of a contract

 

[robbieboy3686]

You don’t 7x7 the odd man out.

Sure you do. He’s been needed the entire contract. It’s also a very reasonable contract, and one that can get traded if need be

I think at the deadline I’d hold off on trading for Rantanen but at the draft when we know exactly where we are picking I’d trade our pick plus for a good player and then also make a pitch to rantanen or another good player at free agency.

I am just too wary of what the trade price would be especially given how he looks like he could be a poison pill of a contract

Have to give to get. If he’s available, we do anything we can to sign and trade for him. These trade deadline deals, seem to always have underwhelming returns for the team trading the big piece.

 

[AngelDuck]

Put Terry next to MacKinnon and I guarantee he’d have a couple 90-100 point seasons under his belt right now

I’m not going to say he’s as good as Rantanen but the gap isn’t some outrageous thing where the trade is worth it

 

[robbieboy3686]

Put Terry next to MacKinnon and I guarantee he’d have a couple 90-100 point seasons under his belt right now

I’m not going to say he’s as good as Rantanen but the gap isn’t some outrageous thing where the trade is worth it

Will be fun to see this all play out. We have an internal Terry upgrade in sennecke waiting in the wings, a kid verbeek drafted and is very high on too. He’s coming next season is my guess. I’m sure we would love to stick him in the 3rd line to start. And if we got a ratenen, somebody has to go to make room

 

[ScarTroy]

Sure you do. He’s been needed the entire contract. It’s also a very reasonable contract, and one that can get traded if need be

No you don’t, that’s a good way to start getting bent in contract negotiations and having everyone require a NMC or NTC. “You signed a reasonable team friendly deal? Trade bait.” Complete nonsense to even suggest that.

 

[robbieboy3686]

No you don’t, that’s a good way to start getting bent in contact negotiations and having everyone require a NMC or NTC. “You signed a reasonable team friendly deal? Trade bait.” Complete nonsense to even suggest that.

Does Terry have a nmc? Does he have a letter on his chest?

 

[ScarTroy]

Does Terry have a nmc? Does he have a letter on his chest?

No, but if we trade him after signing a reasonable deal, don’t expect any more movable contracts without clauses. Why would anyone sign one at that point?

 

[Ducks DVM]

I dont think I would do Terry + a 1st for a signed Rantanen at all.

Terry is locked up at an extremely reasonable $7M for a long time. Is Rantanen that much better than him to justify giving up a first and paying him 6 million more per season? I’m extremely skeptical there

I would actually disagree with the board here and say that Zegras makes way more sense to trade then Terry. Like, it’s not even that close to me at this point.

Not only is Terry a better player but he’s locked up long term

This. Terry is our only actual top 6 forward at this point, and has shown the ability to carry a line. You add to that type of player by trading lesser players, you don’t incrementally increase the talent level by trading him for a guy who does really well playing next to a top 3 player in the league but who’s not shown the ability to carry a line.

One would assume that adding a non-3rd line player next to Terry would have a fair chance of getting Terry’s production up to a 1st line level.

 

[NWWisconsinDuck]

Guys I wouldn’t trade in the forward group for a signed Rantanen (as part of a package of course)

Terry
Carlsson
Gauthier

That’s it.

 

[tomd]

I hope most of us can agree on the following:
1. PV would be an idiot to trade for an unsigned Rantanen
2. Canes would be asking for a Necas caliber player in exchange for a signed Rantanen

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Put Terry next to MacKinnon and I guarantee he’d have a couple 90-100 point seasons under his belt right now

I’m not going to say he’s as good as Rantanen but the gap isn’t some outrageous thing where the trade is worth it

Agreed, whatever the gap is...it's not worth giving up good assets and paying double the cap number. Terry is currently at 0.85 points per game, on a team where no one else is above 0.60 and only four are above 0.5 - would Rantanen be a lock to be a point per game guy on this 2024-25 Ducks team in place of Terry? I don't know

 

[Ducks DVM]

Does Terry have a nmc? Does he have a letter on his chest?

Strome and Killorn have letters. Does that make them off limits?

As long as we're speculating, I wouldn't rule out a return to COL. He and his camp were surprised when he was traded. They didn't see it coming. With MacKinnon (already paid) and Makar (soon to be paid) it's obvious they won't pay very top dollar for Rantanen, but he claims he was willing to take a hometown discount to stay. Things never got that far before he was traded.

The idea that he will only sign for top dollar somewhere has no factual basis. Obviously he's not coming here or Chicago for less than ginormous money, but I doubt he signs anywhere that isn't some kind of contender. Would a guy like that, still in his (late) prime, really want to sign for 7 years with a crappy team just for a few more dollars? That's difficult for me to believe. And if he meant what he said about a hometown discount, I wouldn't rule out COL.

Plenty of reporting that says otherwise. If he was willing to take a discount somewhere he likely would still be in Colorado. I think it’s very likely that his agent opened with wanting Draisaitl money (or more), and Colorado decided they’d rather have Makar and didn’t bother spending much time on the bargaining him down.

https://athlonsports.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/hurricanes-offer-mikko-rantanen-amid-contract-talks-report

A Sportsnet report Saturday night indicated that Carolina Hurricanes right winger, Mikko Rantanen, was considering a massive contract extension offer from the team – specifically, a financial amount that was “into the nine digits”. That would likely mean an average annual value of at least $12.5 million per season on an eight-year contract term. And while Rantanen may ultimately choose to remain in Carolina, there are some worrisome metrics out there that could cause Rantanen to be traded at or before the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline

How the Rantanen blockbuster happened, what's next for Avs, Canes, other contenders

Will he re-sign in Carolina after this season -- and if not, where else? And what will other contenders do to keep pace ahead of the March 7 deadline?

www.espn.com

Rantanen was seeking a contract in the neighborhood of the eight-year extension Leon Draisaitl signed with the Edmonton Oilers in September. That deal carries an average annual value of $14 million. Both Rantanen and Draisaitl are represented by agent Andy Scott.

The winger has said he was willing to take less than market value to remain in Colorado, but it's unclear what that number actually looked like.

 

[shach1]

J PETERKA ON TRADE BAIT BOATD. GUESS WHO COACHED HIM IN AUSTRIA? MATT MCCELVANE

We could also offer sheet him.7 x 8 or 8.5.Give up a 1st 2nd and 3rd.

What does evreyone think?

We could go up to 9.1 million and stay at the 1st 2nd 3rd compensation level.

By the end of next year, I expect us to be a wildcard team so that 1st will probably be between 15 and 23.

Peterka is 23. Will be 25 to 30 when we are cup contending. Mikko will be 30 to 33.

 

[NWWisconsinDuck]

Some have mentioned waiting until free agency if he wants to come here. In a vacuum, that’s true.

The flaw in that thinking is that he may be open to other places too and they’ll get just as much of a chance to sell him as we will. If he’s truly open to signing now though, there’s advantages to being the first ones on the dance floor. The challenge is making sure he’ll dance.

 

[anezthes]

Rantanen > Terry. Rantanen @ 12+ < Terry @ 7.

Wouldn't trade our first for either one.

IMO/YMMV.

 

[dracom]

J PETERKA ON TRADE BAIT BOATD. GUESS WHO COACHED HIM IN AUSTRIA? MATT MCCELVANE

We could also offer sheet him.7 x 8 or 8.5.Give up a 1st 2nd and 3rd.

What does evreyone think?

We could go up to 9.1 million and stay at the 1st 2nd 3rd compensation level.

By the end of next year, I expect us to be a wildcard team so that 1st will probably be between 15 and 23.

Peterka is 23. Will be 25 to 30 when we are cup contending. Mikko will be 30 to 33.

You want to give a guy with a career high of 50 points , up to 9.1 mil? Even 8 is too much.

 

[Ducks DVM]

J PETERKA ON TRADE BAIT BOATD. GUESS WHO COACHED HIM IN AUSTRIA? MATT MCCELVANE

We could also offer sheet him.7 x 8 or 8.5.Give up a 1st 2nd and 3rd.

What does evreyone think?

We could go up to 9.1 million and stay at the 1st 2nd 3rd compensation level.

By the end of next year, I expect us to be a wildcard team so that 1st will probably be between 15 and 23.

Peterka is 23. Will be 25 to 30 when we are cup contending. Mikko will be 30 to 33.

You divide the total money by 5 years to get the compensation value.

7*8/5=11.2 = 2 1sts +2nd +3rd.
7*8.5/5=11.9 = 4 1sts.

No thank you.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Strome and Killorn have letters. Does that make them off limits?


Plenty of reporting that says otherwise. If he was willing to take a discount somewhere he likely would still be in Colorado. I think it’s very likely that his agent opened with wanting Draisaitl money (or more), and Colorado decided they’d rather have Makar and didn’t bother spending much time on the bargaining him down.

https://athlonsports.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/hurricanes-offer-mikko-rantanen-amid-contract-talks-report

A Sportsnet report Saturday night indicated that Carolina Hurricanes right winger, Mikko Rantanen, was considering a massive contract extension offer from the team – specifically, a financial amount that was “into the nine digits”. That would likely mean an average annual value of at least $12.5 million per season on an eight-year contract term. And while Rantanen may ultimately choose to remain in Carolina, there are some worrisome metrics out there that could cause Rantanen to be traded at or before the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline

How the Rantanen blockbuster happened, what's next for Avs, Canes, other contenders

Will he re-sign in Carolina after this season -- and if not, where else? And what will other contenders do to keep pace ahead of the March 7 deadline?

www.espn.com

Rantanen was seeking a contract in the neighborhood of the eight-year extension Leon Draisaitl signed with the Edmonton Oilers in September. That deal carries an average annual value of $14 million. Both Rantanen and Draisaitl are represented by agent Andy Scott.

The winger has said he was willing to take less than market value to remain in Colorado, but it's unclear what that number actually looked like.

First of all, I only threw that out there as a possibility. I don't think it's likely, but I wouldn't rule it out completely.

Here's the long explanation...

I think from the beginning the Avs always favored Makar over Rantanen if it came down to one or the other. No real surprise there. That said, agents always start asking high. (BTW, there hasn't been an actual source for the Draisaitl money ask, just a rumor) Who knows when push came to shove how much the agent/player would have backed down. But they did get kind of blindsided by the trade when they thought they were playing the long game of negotiating. They never really had a chance to "change their mind" and back down on the ask.

Perhaps it gave the Avs an easy out because maybe they weren't that gung ho to re-sign him. I guess we will never know if that was the case. But if they are willing to have him at the right price and he was sincere about wanting to stay for a hometown discount it still isn't out of the question.

At least it all makes for an exciting TDL.