By Jordan Long
The Colorado Avalanche start training camp tomorrow, running through the 16th. Colorado has their 1st preseason game on September 17th when they host the Las Vegas Golden Knights. There is one key player missing, restricted free agent forward Mikko Rantanen.
Rantanen is preparing for the season by skating in Finland. He is going to miss the start of camp and who knows how long his absence may last. Rantanen is waiting on a new contract which might pay him $7 or $8 million based on his performance last year when he scored a career high 31 goals and added 56 assists for total of 87 points.
According to NHL.com, Rantanen said, “I have to admit I’m having [a] kind of wait and see feeling, but I just need to stay calm. There’s no need to panic. I was prepared to stay in Finland longer than usual. So I was ready for this, and it is no shock for me to still be in Finland. We’re slowly moving forward but I have no schedule and I can’t say anything about the state of the negotiations.”
The Colorado Avalanche know how valuable Rantanen is to the team. His vision on the ice helps him feed his teammates for goals. Rantanen is one of Colorado’s fastest skaters and uses his speed to skate past defenseman as well as being in on odd man rushes. These all equal scoring chances for the Avalanche.
Colorado is not worried yet that Rantanen isn’t in Denver. They are going to work towards a deal. The Avalanche have plenty of cap space with around $15 million left to spend. This contract must be done soon so Rantanen can be in a Colorado sweater for opening night of the regular season October 3rd when they host the Calgary Flames.
On the other hand, this should have been completed months ago. The waiting game is not the best for both sides. If this was finalized during the summer, the Avalanche wouldn’t be in wait and see mode with Rantaen. General Manager Joe Sakic had time to work a deal out. Then again there is still time for this to be completed. Hopefully, Rantanen will be signed in the next few weeks before panic sets in when they start the season without him. YT M-
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