Mikko Rantanen’s most recent tenure with the Colorado Avalanche came at a time they were desperate for healthy bodies up the middle. It came on the fourth line, failing to see him register his first NHL point. Now, after three games, it has come to an end.
After Saturday’s devastating loss to the Minnesota Wild, the team reassigned Rantanen to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. With 21 goals and 52 points, he is the Ranpage’s leading scorer. Scoring at the NHL level, however, is still something that he knows nothing about.
Apparently, the decision to send Rantanen back to the minors would have come regardless of how he performed. He now has nine NHL games under his belt. Had he played in a 10th, he would have burned a year off of his contract.
“We’re not going to burn a year, first of all,” general manager Joe Sakic told the Denver Post. “He will start next year [with the Avalanche].”
While saving a year on his affordable entry-level deal was a factor, Sakic went on to elaborate further on the decision in his conversation with the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers, stating that the potential for an expansion draft following the 2016-2017 campaign also played a part.
“(Expansion rules) can change,” said Sakic. “It’s got to be negotiated, but in his first two years, he would be treated like a junior player. From our understanding, but not 100 percent, the first two years he won’t be exposed so you don’t have to protect them. So you can protect your other guys.”
It’s obvious that the Avalanche still see Rantanen as a big part of their future plans. For now, people will simply have to wait for that future to begin in earnest.
