Confirmed Trade: [CAR/COL/CHI] Mikko Rantanen (50%), Taylor Hall, Nils Juntorp to CAR; Martin Necas, Jack Drury, '25 2nd, '26 4th to COL; '25 3rd to CHI for retention

[Avs2022]

I love Mikko. Always will love Mikko. Think he gets way more hate than he ever deserved. But watching Necas today he was a lot more noticeable than Mikko has been any time recently.

Came to post something like this. I know it's been mentioned before, but Mikko from 2018-2021 was a different beast. Somethings changed, and he doesn't drive play like he used to and looks unmotivated at times in almost every game. Still love him, perhaps one the best shots in the league, and elite.

Necas was amazing today, should have probably had 2 goals if not for posts. But his chemistry with the top line was great.

 

[Boxscore]

I've seen plenty of online speculation that the Avs cut out Rantanen's legs when he was willing to take less than MacKinnon. Imho, that doesn't make sense. If Rantanen had indeed been willing to give Colorado a nice hometown discount, a deal would have been completed a while ago.

I believe this was a case of:

A.) Rantanen staying hands-off in negotiations and not strongly voicing his desire to remain an Av for less money.

B.) Rantanen's agent going against his wishes and not being forthright about where the discussions were headed.

C.) Rantanen's agent guilt-tripping him about leaving money on the table because it hurts other players.

Unfortunately, all of these scenarios are terrible and represent what's wrong with pro sports today. For better or worse, a hard cap exists in the NHL. Because of that, some very talented players will be forced to decide between leaving money on the table to remain on a team with other high-priced talent or making top dollar on a different team. No, it's not "fair" but it's the reality in a cap league. It's also not an indictment on the player or a measure of their worth. I mean, McDavid is likely "worth" 30 million a year but it's impossible to pay him that.

The player has every right to maximize their earning potential and choose dollars over remaining with a winning team. However, I think it's very unfortunate when a player appears sincere when they say they were willing to take less... and they were still traded. That tells me there was a breakdown between the player and the organization... and I blame the agents for that.

In too many cases, agents are too big and egotistical for their own good. And I feel players should be more heavy-handed with how they employ said agents. At the end of the day, it's the player's career and they should be calling the shots... not some agent who has gone rogue for additional fees, industry clout, or ego credit.

If Rantanen wants 14 mil then he should just say so, and stop playing the "I was shocked" victim card. If Rantanen was willing to take less than MacKinnon and he was still traded, then he should have fired his agent immediately when notified... and called Sakic and asked him to nix the deal and work directly with him on an extension, without his crummy agent.

These are the only two ways to look at this, imho... because it makes ZERO sense that Sakic would move a proven megastar like Rantanen (and risk losing his room and killing chemistry) unless the player's agent was demanding top dollar and showing no signs of budging. Players like Rantanen don't get traded if they're loyal soldiers and willing to take less to stay.

 

[Muffin]

Colorado’s final offer was $11.75m x 8y.

If Rantanen was hell bent on $14m, I understand the disconnect.

If he was willing to sign for $12.5m, the Avs traded him and Mikko left over a grand total of $750k a season or $6m over 8 years.

Wild.

Colorado Avalanche's Final Contract Offer to Mikko Rantanen Leaked by Elliotte Friedman

Colorado Avalanche's final contract offer to Mikko Rantanen before trading him to the Carolina Hurricanes was leaked by the renowned insider Elliotte Friedman.

www.yardbarker.com

I think he wanted more than 12s. If their last offer was 11.75 I would think the 12s would have been close enough they wouldn’t have traded him

 

[Boxscore]

I think he wanted more than 12s. If their last offer was 11.75 I would think the 12s would have been close enough they wouldn’t have traded him

I agree. You don't trade a proven leader, elite producer, and fan-favorite like Rantanen over $250k. This is why I believe the agent was dragging this out without budging because they know the longer this goes without a deal... the more leverage the player has... since the team will either cave, lose him for nothing, or be forced to take a crummy deal. The Avs ended the games and jumped on a deal when a star-level player under team control was offered in return. Agents will keep playing this game until their players fire them.

 

[catnip]

Market value is not the same as a player's value to his current team. It's not inherently disrespectful to offer "less". If you want market value, you need to be on the market. For a player of Mikko's stature, the market would almost invariably pay more than his current team because someone's job is always on the line, the team is on a 7-game losing streak and a faint smell of desperation is starting to linger around the locker room.

 

[not a troll]

Speak for yourself lol. I have a Stanley Cup like Rantanen. I'm clearing multi-million dollars a year after taxes like Rantanen. I have access to accountants that have the means to whittle away those taxes so I'm not paying nearly 50% or whatever like Rantanen.
I'm going somewhere like SJ every single time. A couple/few million be damned. I'm living as close to the arena as possible so traffic isn't an issue. Freshest food on the planet. Hot babies in bikinis. And I'm not freezing my @$$ off.

There aren’t any babes in bikinis in San Jose instead you have burritos with rice in them.

 

[Mac Attack]

I've seen plenty of online speculation that the Avs cut out Rantanen's legs when he was willing to take less than MacKinnon. Imho, that doesn't make sense. If Rantanen had indeed been willing to give Colorado a nice hometown discount, a deal would have been completed a while ago.

I believe this was a case of:

A.) Rantanen staying hands-off in negotiations and not strongly voicing his desire to remain an Av for less money.

B.) Rantanen's agent going against his wishes and not being forthright about where the discussions were headed.

C.) Rantanen's agent guilt-tripping him about leaving money on the table because it hurts other players.

Unfortunately, all of these scenarios are terrible and represent what's wrong with pro sports today. For better or worse, a hard cap exists in the NHL. Because of that, some very talented players will be forced to decide between leaving money on the table to remain on a team with other high-priced talent or making top dollar on a different team. No, it's not "fair" but it's the reality in a cap league. It's also not an indictment on the player or a measure of their worth. I mean, McDavid is likely "worth" 30 million a year but it's impossible to pay him that.

The player has every right to maximize their earning potential and choose dollars over remaining with a winning team. However, I think it's very unfortunate when a player appears sincere when they say they were willing to take less... and they were still traded. That tells me there was a breakdown between the player and the organization... and I blame the agents for that.

In too many cases, agents are too big and egotistical for their own good. And I feel players should be more heavy-handed with how they employ said agents. At the end of the day, it's the player's career and they should be calling the shots... not some agent who has gone rogue for additional fees, industry clout, or ego credit.

If Rantanen wants 14 mil then he should just say so, and stop playing the "I was shocked" victim card. If Rantanen was willing to take less than MacKinnon and he was still traded, then he should have fired his agent immediately when notified... and called Sakic and asked him to nix the deal and work directly with him on an extension, without his crummy agent.

These are the only two ways to look at this, imho... because it makes ZERO sense that Sakic would move a proven megastar like Rantanen (and risk losing his room and killing chemistry) unless the player's agent was demanding top dollar and showing no signs of budging. Players like Rantanen don't get traded if they're loyal soldiers and willing to take less to stay.

Or D) Rant didn't want to look bad in the media. He's earned his money and is entitled to it, but I highly doubt this negotiation breaking down has him on the sidelines completely naive.

With the cap going up, I always thought a matching deal with MacKinnon would have been fair. But I guess it wasn't to be.

 

[Boxscore]

Market value is not the same as a player's value to his current team. It's not inherently disrespectful to offer "less".

This is true. Rantanen had the luxury of contending for a Cup every year and benefitted from skating with elite talents like MacKinnon and Makar. That is a major perk of the job, but it usually makes for less money available for other players when the time is up. When this happens, players need to choose between making the most money or playing for the team they want. Money spoke... again.

 

[Boxscore]

Or D) Rant didn't want to look bad in the media. He's earned his money and is entitled to it, but I highly doubt this negotiation breaking down has him on the sidelines completely naive.

With the cap going up, I always thought a matching deal with MacKinnon would have been fair. But I guess it wasn't to be.

I agree on both counts. But that would make Rantanen and MacKinnon Academy award-winning actors... because both looked shaken, shocked, and upset by the trade.

I want to believe Rantanen knew exactly where the process was but I don't know if I believe that... too many times we hear players say, "That's between my agent and the team" blah, blah, blah...

This is a big problem for me. A GM/owner and player should be able to have dinner and discuss the state of the team and current contract without the agent having their tentacles on everything... unless the player wants that.

If I was a pro player who made tens of millions in my life and was on the verge of another 90-100 million contract... and I wanted to stay with the Avs and my contract was set to expire in a few months... I'd be at the owner's house working out a gentleman's agreement if my agent wasn't doing the job I wanted.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Personally, I think it's more the agents planting seeds in the players heads so they can get a bigger cut. Remember, if a player leaves money on the table for his teammates, his teammates probably have a different agent and they get a bigger cut.

Some players let the agent do everything and trust them 100%. Some don't (like MacKinnon)

Nail on the head. Agents negotiate for a living. Why would the players not trust them? 12.25 was the 98 (14*7) over eight years. If Rantanen was willing to be around there, it needed to happen sooner and this trade doesn’t likely happen. If Rantanens camp gave indication of being in the low 12s over 8 years, there’s enough of a reason to keep talking. But that’s not what happened here. If Rantanen was eventually willing to go to the low 12s then his agent really bungled this with their negotiating tactic.

It’s hard to call Rantanen greedy when he’s listening to an agent that he’s paying. It’s also interesting that Friedman noted that Rantanen’s agent wouldn’t comment. Instead, they leave Rantanen to answer questions.

 

[Boxscore]

Agents negotiate for a living. Why would the players not trust them?

Agents also take a healthy % of what they get the player, so they are financially motivated to scratch and claw for every last dollar... and sometimes at the player's detriment. If I wanted to stay with my current team and my agent still hasn't made that happen with months left on my contract, my "trust" would begin to erode in their ability to get a deal done.

I have a financial advisor. He makes a living advising, I don't. But it's my money... and if I decide I want 40% of it to be reinvested in crypto or low-risk stocks... you better believe he'd be doing it... or I'd find one that would.

No player should trust their agent completely and sit on the sidelines like a child with no skin in the game. That's absurd to me, lol.

 

[Leafs87]

Mikko not knowing is pure BS as he had a NMC

 

[EdAVSfan]

Mikko not knowing is pure BS as he had a NMC

No he didn’t/doesnt

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Mikko not knowing is pure BS as he had a NMC

No, Rantanen has a 9 team no-trade clause for this season.

Carolina was not on the list, so he didn’t have any say in the deal.

 

[HelmutCool]

Necas will play wing (for now) and Drury is a great faceoff guy, so disagree.

We sucked at faceoffs anyways

You did. But Mikko took them over 53% when playing Nates winger.

 

[OilersFanatics505]

Spot on, I was thinking MacK was the Captain


Yeah, because you're a rival. I don't give a s**t who other team's Caps are.

Well if you’re going to base your argument on who you thought the captain was, you should probably know or you just sound stupid.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

If Rantanen was willing to take less than MacKinnon and he was still traded, then he should have fired his agent immediately when notified... and called Sakic and asked him to nix the deal and work directly with him on an extension, without his crummy agent.

Doesn’t work like that homie

 

[japhi27returns]

If he turned down 11.75, to get 12.5 somewhere else, playing with inferior players, he f***ed up.

Sure, go get your money but 11.75 is pretty solid for a winger playing with the second best player in the league. I mean, from a hockey situation, its best in class.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Somehow it makes me sad that a beloved superstar player in his prime, who endured the worst times of a franchise and did his own part in turning things around and going all the way to a cup, is traded this cold-bloodedly. Apparently, the Avs management didn't even really try to re-sign him even if he was willing to take a hometown discount, but they had decided to trade him a long time ago with no communication to the player whatsoever

. I would love to see this kind of a mismanagement get some backlash,

It’s “mismanagement” because they traded a player you liked? Why not see how the season plays out before you draw a conclusion like that?

 

[japhi27returns]

Well played by the Avs. No team should be paying their third best player 13MM plus. See Toronto.

He wants that cake, he needs to be the best player on his team. Can’t see the Canes offering him a stack more than Aho, a better player then Rants IMO

 

[Muffin]

I just read the stat line.

How come you didn’t post the stat line after the second game?

 

[Boxscore]

Doesn’t work like that homie

It can work many different ways... if the player truly wants to stay and the team wants to keep him. You think Nate MacKinnon is going to let his agent negotiate his way into a trade? Multiple Flyers players bypassed their agents and spoke directly to Mr. Snider and GM Bob Clarke to get a deal done... I know this for a fact... as a close friend of mine worked for the team for close to 20 years.

 

[Muffin]

Also I was surprised at how big Necas is. For a guy with that kind of skating ability I thought he was like 5’10 not 6’3

 

[Boxscore]

Also I was surprised at how big Necas is. For a guy with that kind of skating ability I thought he was like 5’10 not 6’3

Necas is a generous 6-3 but he is lanky and deceptive because of his agility and style of play. He is shiftier and processes the game faster than Rantanen but he is a better passer than he is a shooter, which will take some getting used to. Rantanen is thicker, more powerful, and his shot is filthy... he can break a game wide open with his goal-scoring. MacKinnon will need to shoot more if they continue playing together.

 

[Petes2424]

Throwing out all the background noise, the thing that sticks out about the trade itself is, they just traded one of the Top 3 wingers in the game, and didn’t get a legit C or Dman in return.

Yep, good bet Necas gets the chance he’s been looking for, to be a legit Top 6 C, and maybe it works out. Fact is though, he’s been a much better player when you take those responsibilities away from him. Even now, he’s not chipping or causing interference as a winger. Not sure how they would expect him to do it in the middle.

That’s my take. You trade a Rantanen, you best get someone who has a chance to be a difference maker and that’s almost always going to be a C or Dman.