Mikko Rantanen has finally broken his silence about the shocking trade that sent him from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes. And what he’s saying might surprise Avs fans.
“I was ready to take a significant discount for my market value,” Rantanen told The Denver Post’s Corey Masisak. The star forward had been willing to leave money on the table to stay in Colorado.
But things moved faster than he expected.
“We had some chats, like a couple days before. Then they traded me,” he said. “That’s what happened. That’s why I didn’t expect what happened.”
Despite being caught off guard, Rantanen’s taking the move like a pro. He’s never been traded before, but he gets it – that’s hockey.
“I don’t know. I didn’t know we were in a rush,” he said. “That’s what I felt like. That’s my honest opinion. But it’s business and I understand.”
The money situation was complicated. Word around the league was that Rantanen’s camp started negotiations looking at something similar to Leon Draisaitl’s massive deal with Edmonton – eight years at $112 million. But the Avalanche had their own ceiling: they weren’t going to pay anyone more than Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million per year.
Even with Rantanen willing to take less, the gap was probably too big to bridge.
The trade wasn’t just about Colorado and Carolina, though. The Chicago Blackhawks played a key role, taking on some of Rantanen’s salary and moving Taylor Hall in the deal.
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson explained their timing to The Athletic: “In waiting, you run the risk of things like injury, and the role was diminishing almost by the game.”
Davidson figured they wouldn’t get a better deal by waiting until the trade deadline. He wanted to move while Hall’s value was still solid.
“It just wasn’t heading towards a way that was going to maximize or enhance value,” Davidson said. “In moving then, we moved at full price.”
