Mikko Rantanen Proves That There's Nothing More Terrifying In This World Than A Man Who Is Fueled By Spite
Cameron Bartlett. Getty Images.Mikko Rantanen probably thought he was going to spend his entire career with the Avalanche. He was a massive part of that core that won a Cup in 2022, with the window still wide open in Colorado to win a couple more. 100+ point scorers don't just grow on trees. Maybe they do in Nousianen, Finland. But nowhere else in the world. Mikko Rantanen most likely assumed the Colorado Avalanche would do everything in their power to make sure they kept him wearing an Avs sweater for at least the next 8 years.
So when they shipped him off to Carolina in the middle of January like some 3rd line nobody who just got called up from the AHL? Well it gave him something that not even $14 million per year could buy--spiteful rage. Rejection is a helluva drug. Sometimes after a breakup you just need to lock yourself in the gym, and you don't come back out until you're looking like a Greek god. Or sometimes you need to become just the 3rd player in NHL history to have back-to-back hat tricks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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3 goals in the 3rd period of game 7 to send the Colorado Avalanche home. He already won the breakup right then and there. But he's not here to just win the breakup. He wants to rub Colorado's nose in it, and make them realize they made the biggest mistake of their life. So he goes ahead and follows that performance up with a natural hat trick in game 1 of the Western Conference Semis. His 6th, 7th, and 8th goals of the playoffs so far. This sick bastard might mess around and put up 50 in the playoffs alone. Guys like MacKinnon and Makar are trying to book tee times right now in the offseason. Mikko Rantanen and the boys in Dallas have a nice little spa day in store to get their bodies right before game 2 in Winnipeg.
He leads the playoffs in goals. He leads the playoffs in points. He's making a strong case for being the best hockey player on the planet currently. And it's all thanks to spite. The $96 million contract extension he signed with the Dallas Stars probably helps out a little as well. I'd imagine millions and millions of dollars in your bank account makes everything in life a little easier.