Mikko Rantanen Says He Would Have Taken A "Significant Discount" To Stay In Colorado
Mike Stobe. Getty Images.So a pretty massive trade went down in the NHL over the weekend. We didn't get a chance to really talk about it yet since it was Conference Championship Weekend in the NFL. But Mikko Rantanen was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and a couple of draft picks. Chicago also got themselves involved in the trade by retaining 50% of Rantanen's salary, and sending Taylor Hall to Carolina in exchange for a 3rd round pick. Kind of a weird move for Chicago to get themselves involved with this one, but maybe this is a "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine" type of thing setting up down the road.
Either way, the two big blockbuster names in this trade are Mikko Rantanen heading to Carolina and Martin Necas going to Colorado. Both guys are having massive seasons. They're both top 10 in the league in points with Rantanen in 6th with 64 points through 50 games, and Necas putting up 57 points in 51 games. Necas has one more year left on his contract with a $6.5M cap hit. Rantanen is a UFA at the end of this season.
Now Carolina moving on from Necas seemed pretty inevitable at some point. There were already some shaky negotiations between Necas and Carolina before he signed his 2-year deal this past summer. There was a moment in the offseason when Necas' dad was giving an interview saying he doesn't think his son would play for the Hurricanes again because he wasn't getting 1st line and 1st PP unit minutes. So it was only a matter of time before Martin Necas' time in Carolina was up.
But for Mikko Rantanen? Well obviously he had a big contract negotiation coming up. He's a star in this league who is coming off of back-to-back 100+ point seasons, and is on pace to have another one this year. He's going to be getting PAID this summer, especially if the salary cap goes up the way that people are saying it's about to go. It wouldn't be too outrageous to see him get $14 million if he hits the open market. Colorado figured they wouldn't be able to keep up with that bidding war, and traded him now while they could still get something in return. But apparently now he's saying that it wouldn't have taken that much to keep him in Colorado.
Now who knows what this actually means. It's probably easy for Rantanen to say now that he would have taken a discount since he's already out of the building. But how much is a "significant" discount. Are we talking a discount from his market value right now, or a discount on his market value in the summer once the salary cap skyrockets?
Most teams aren't in the business of trading away 100+ point scorers unless they legitimately want out. We saw it with Calgary trading Tkachuk to Florida once they realized he was never going to re-sign with the Flames. So either Colorado knew even with the "significant discount" that they wouldn't be able to pay Rantanen this summer. Or Rantanen just has the worst agent ever who never made it clear to Colorado that they'd be willing to work on a number that keeps him in an Avalanche sweater.
Either way, that has to be a brutal quote to hear once he's already unpacked his bags in Carolina. Can't take the trade back now. And considering Necas is on the books now in Colorado for the 2025-26 season, they aren't going to have enough room to even try to offer up a reunion in free agency.
Huge pick up for the Canes, though. Necas is a great player but, again, it just never seemed like he was going to stick around long term with them. So they get a superstar in Mikko Rantanen. A guy who has already won a Stanley Cup and brings that championship pedigree to their locker room. Another Finn to go along with guys like Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Plus they'll have the cap room to give Rantanen the extension that he's looking for. So you figure all they need right now is a decent run in the playoffs to convince him to stick around long term. Canes are going to be a capital P Problem.
P.S. -- Poor Nate Dogg.
