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Around the NHL — Episode XLXVII

Wallet Inspector said:
I think I remember reading that Avs and Rantanen couldn't come to an agreement in contract negotiations.
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I guarantee you if they made this trade he either wants to test the market, or wants 15M-20M. Re-signing him has to be completely untenable for them to trade him like this.

Necas+Kotkaniemi are a bit above 11M together for the next two years.

It feels like a win/win trade that is also complete highway robbery, if that makes sense because there is absolutely nothing to lose for Carolina. To quote Joe Sakic, Carolina wasn't "sufficiently hurt" in this deal. Let's say Carolina MISSES the playoffs and Rantanen walks, that is like the worst case scenario for them. What's the consequence? They were probably going to lose Necas next year anyways. They got some cap flexibility by moving Kotkaniemi. They move on. Where as, if Rantanen re-signs in Carolina, the Hurricanes got him for effectively nothing.

If you look at Carolina, EVERYBODY is cost controlled for many years. They can go into July 1st and give Rantanen a blank cheque. They will have over 30 million in cap space so even in a scenario where he wants 15M to max, they could easily fit him in and there are no real ramifications for them. Colorado's top guy just signed a team friendly deal a few years back, and Makar is going to be a UFA very soon. If Rantanen wants 15M-19M, then you're looking at Makar getting 20M+, unless he is an idiot or a nice guy.

Teams that don't have some sort of outside force don't trade players like Rantanen. This feels like when we traded Mark Stone. Only that I bet Mark Stone would have re-signed if we put 8 years with a NMC and signing bonuses on the table, in this case my bet is that Rantanen wants to test the market. The point being, outside forces caused this trade. This isn't Colorado saying Necas+Kotkaniemi make them better than keeping Rantanen. It's them saying Necas+Kotkaniemi for possibly the next decade (assuming they can re-sign Necas) make them better than a few more months of Rantanen.
 
Solid return for Rantanen that keeps the Avs' contending window open for another couple years

Rantanen is a damn good player but paying him 12-14M a year until he's 36 isn't going to work out well.

Worth noting that, while he has 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games, 7 of those 25 goals have been empty netters. He hasn't been performing at the same kind of elite level thus far in 23/24.
 
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Hale The Villain said:
Solid return for Rantanen that keeps the Avs' contending window open for another couple years

Rantanen is a damn good player but paying him 12-14M a year until he's 36 isn't going to work out well.

Worth noting that, while he has 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games, 7 of those 25 goals have been empty netters. He hasn't been performing at the same kind of elite level thus far in 23/24.
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I think it's a win-win trade when you look at the circumstances and cap of each team. Carolina has the cap flexibility to sign Rantanen to almost any contract, and their entire core is cost controlled for 4+ seasons. Colorado is 2 seasons away from having to make Makar their highest paid player. While I think Colorado did fine given the circumstances, this feels like the Mark Stone trade in terms of a team acquiring a player who will help take them to the next level.

I disagree about paying Rantanen 14M. The cap is shooting up. My guess is that he wants a lot more than 14M. I don't think every team in the league could pay him that and have it make sense, but Carolina is in a great position to do so. This is a possible franchise defining trade for Carolina. Their window is the next 4 years while everybody is cost controlled and they just added a franchise player on top of an already strong core. Given the difficulties they had with Necas, he was probably gone anyways after next year, and as good as he has been, Rantanen is still a major upgrade.
 
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Hale The Villain said:
Solid return for Rantanen that keeps the Avs' contending window open for another couple years

Rantanen is a damn good player but paying him 12-14M a year until he's 36 isn't going to work out well.

Worth noting that, while he has 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games, 7 of those 25 goals have been empty netters. He hasn't been performing at the same kind of elite level thus far in 23/24.
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I assume Colorado wasn’t willing to go higher than MacKinnon so they made the trade.
 
frightenedinmatenum2 said:
I think it's a win-win trade when you look at the circumstances and cap of each team. Carolina has the cap flexibility to sign Rantanen to almost any contract, and their entire core is cost controlled for 4+ seasons. Colorado is 2 seasons away from having to make Makar their highest paid player. While I think Colorado did fine given the circumstances, this feels like the Mark Stone trade in terms of a team acquiring a player who will help take them to the next level.

I disagree about paying Rantanen 14M. The cap is shooting up. My guess is that he wants a lot more than 14M. I don't think every team in the league could pay him that and have it make sense, but Carolina is in a great position to do so. This is a possible franchise defining trade for Carolina. Their window is the next 4 years while everybody is cost controlled and they just added a franchise player on top of an already strong core. Given the difficulties they had with Necas, he was probably gone anyways after next year, and as good as he has been, Rantanen is still a major upgrade.
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I've never been a big believer in the cap going up argument when it comes to the decision to give long-term deals to players in their late 20s/early 30s, as these players tend to regress significantly before the contract is up, and even if their contract's percentage of their team's cap is going down over time, they're play usually is declining even faster.

It's a play by Carolina to better their roster in the short-term. If they get a cup out of it, with Rantanen playing a big role in that, it's obviously a big win, but I think any team giving a Draisaitl-esque contract to Rantanen is going to seriously regret it.
 
Hale The Villain said:
I've never been a big believer in the cap going up argument when it comes to the decision to give long-term deals to players in their late 20s/early 30s, as these players tend to regress significantly before the contract is up, and even if their contract's percentage of their team's cap is going down over time, they're play usually is declining even faster.

It's a play by Carolina to better their roster in the short-term. If they get a cup out of it, with Rantanen playing a big role in that, it's obviously a big win, but I think any team giving a Draisaitl-esque contract to Rantanen is going to seriously regret it.
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Whoever signs Rantanen will get at least 4 really good years.
 
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Rantanen is a top 5 winger in the game, but if the Avs extended him for $14 million aav, they'd have issues extending Makar down the road.

I get why they moved him, but it sure will be a gamble because Necas is having an outlier of a year and Carolina was prepared to move on from him. Colorado is still a cup contender given how they have two of the best game breakers in the world.
 
For the people that thought the Rangers barely got anything for Kakko, they just signed Borgen to an extension for about 20M/5YRs, so they clearly thought of him as a valuable piece, not just the picks he came with.
 
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Hale The Villain said:
For the people that thought the Rangers barely got anything for Kakko, they just signed Borgen to an extension for about 20M/5YRs, so they clearly thought of him as a valuable piece, not just the picks he came with.
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I am one of those people who figured he was just a throw in but was wrong. Looking at how they have used him, they clearly coveted him. I don't know if he has played well for them because I haven't watched them, but it's similar to Fabbro going from Nashville to Columbus and being used in a bigger role overnight.

That's still a pretty substantial contract. But I guess if they like the player and have seen enough, he's a UFA and they have to pay him.
 
Emerica said:
Pittsburgh needs to pull the plug already
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They've already said they won't trade anyone but their worst contracts.

Two thirds of their roster has either full NMCs or NTCs.

I don't see any teams taking Karlsson's contract even if they retain. It'd have to involve a team with a bunch of cap room to retain and get some compensation, but I'm not sure who of Anaheim, Calgary, or Columbus would do that. Plus it's not just for one year either. Not to mention he has a full NMC (though I imagine he'd waive to go somewhere with a shot at a cup).

I'd love to see Rust come to Ottawa, but he has an NMC and I doubt we'd be a destination for him.

Their contract and cap situation is messed up.
 
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