The free agent market for the upcoming summer will not be particularly messy in terms of quantity, but it will be all the more interesting.
This time, quantity has been replaced by quality. of Toronto Mitch Marner and Colorado Mikko Rantanen are the hottest superstar-level free agents on the market.
For Finns, Rantanen’s situation is of course the most interesting.
It’s even a little surprising that the club and its Turku-based main force still haven’t found a common ground for a new contract. The tension builds the further the season progresses and the closer summer gets.
Could Rantanen go as an unrestricted free agent to measure his value on the free market?
If a TPS breeder did this, the value of this would really be taken to the point of law.
A well-known Canadian insider NHL reporter Pierre LeBrun stated recently on the well-known sports channel TSN that Rantanen’s camp believes that the new contract will jump up to 14 million dollars a year on the open market. It would certainly bounce.
During the previous four years only Austin Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak and Connor McDavid have scored more goals from Ranta with bucks.
Also in the points exchange, Rantanen’s ranking is fifth. In the current season, there are already three hat-tricks and the pace so far is promising with 113 points – that would be Rantanen’s own new record.
Money would be pushed forward in the free market by the truckload, while the Stanley Cup victory is still in the pocket.
The aforementioned Leon Draisaitl, who otherwise uses the same agent as Rantanen, could be used as a control. Andy Scott got a new 8-year contract guaranteeing an annual income of 14 million for Edmonton’s German star.
If Rantase starts shouting about competition in the market, the reading might really hurt close to the readings of the German.
But shall we start, and what is the fuss about Colorado?
Average earnings or percentage?
It is, of course, pure speculation, because the player himself – for understandable reasons – wants to focus on his work, i.e. on playing hockey, instead of public contract negotiation speculation during the season.
It is clear that Rantanen wants to follow his earnings. However, it is difficult to get full value in Colorado, because the Canadian star Nathan MacKinnon is and will remain the club’s wage king.
MacKinnon’s lengthy contract signed two years ago guarantees him a $12.6 million bill annually. For Rantas, Colorado will not pay more.
There has also been speculation as to whether there is a fight going on behind the scenes specifically over the average annual earnings or the percentage of the contract in relation to the salary cap.
If Rantanen’s camp seeks the mid-year earnings of a new contract as close as possible to MacKinnon, the situation will be resolved in time. On the other hand, if it is a percentage, the situation becomes difficult.
In the Canadian star’s first contract year, the salary cap in the NHL was 83.5 million. That meant MacKinnon’s contract would shave 14.5 percent off Colorado’s salary cap. When Rantanen’s new contract is set on fire in the fall of 2025, the salary cap will probably be over 92 million.
If Rantanen were to even apply for a percentage reading in the same stadium area as MacKinnon, the annual salary would easily jump over 13 million. In that case, the average annual earnings would exceed MacKinnon’s 12.6 million, and I don’t think Colorado will play this game in any case.
Colorado also has to play the long game in the situation, because the star defender Cale Makar will revolutionize the salary level of elite defenders with his new contract in three years.
All in all, I believe that the situation will be resolved by signing an extension sooner or later.
Going to the free market would not be a simple solution either. Within the space found under the salary cap, Rantanen could grab three basement teams today.
Of course, according to preliminary estimates, the salary cap will rise by around four million in the summer.
Why leave?
Not much has been said about the situation in public, and even the comments of inside journalists are often propaganda of club managers or agents, with which they try to either lower or raise the price. That’s why I would give the greatest weight to Rantanen’s own statement during the training season.
– I like the club and the city. We even won the championship here, so why would I want to leave here. That’s the only thing I want to say, Rantanen told North American media at the time.
Here we are at the essential point: why would Rantanen want to leave?
There wouldn’t be MacKinnon on the side, there wouldn’t be Cale Makar behind. Rantanen already earned 55 million bucks with his latest contract. Is the sequel really dependent on a few million?
The next contract guarantees the power forward about one hundred million. Of course, every player wants to match his value, but it’s hard to see Ranta on the open market.
It may be that Santa arrives in Denver first, but yes, Rantanen’s extension contract is probably coming.
How about 12 times 8, or 96 million according to the game number?
It would certainly make all parties happy.