Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde and Jesse Blake discuss the Martin Necas 8-Year/$11.5M AAV Extension in Colorado. Do you like the deal? How does this whole situation look in hindsight?
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43 Comments
The Makar thing and the unknown of the cap at the time are the reason for all this. Both sides played it poorly in retrospect, but that's how it goes.
You cannot forget the Nephew's weight in the deal (Drury).
It wasn't a 1 for 1 trade.
What I find hilarious is that you're talking in guarantees "Rantanen will have moved on his ask"…. You do not know that. The Avalanche had a bar they wouldn't surpass, that being the MVP (at the time), they have a 2x Norris, Conn Smythe winning D-man to pay. So they set their mark, Rantanen wouldn't budge (clearly otherwise he'd have been re-signed)
Everyone acts like the Avs traded Rantanen to Dallas – crazy that it's completely forgot that Mikko forced himself out of Carolina… Definitely not the problem though. They sent him to Carolina got a stud back in Necas and a fantastic depth piece in Jack Drury. Say what you want but the Avs are WAAAAAY deeper with Necas than they had be overpaying for Mikko… I'd rather Necas, Drury and incredible depth over Mikko and scrubs 🤷
Mikko was the Avs’ Marner.
He was often disengaged and played lazily (until the playoffs), very streaky, and was always a pain during contract negotiations. We love our Moose but I think, all things considered, we will be better off in the end with this trade.
Him getting sent to Dallas is an unfortunate and unforseeable problem though.
I'd be willing to bet zero of your sources are Av's upper management, Mikko himself, or his agent. Blah, blah, blah.
Also, if the Av's sign Mikko last year, they don't have Nelson, Drury, and probably Olofsson and Burns this year. Love Mikko but this was a baller front office move to stay as competitive and deep as possible going forward.
Necas has indeed been spectacular… in the regular season. Let’s just compare Rantanen and Necas’ post season numbers… oh dear 😬
These are the kinds of contracts that are being handed out now because of the Cap. Teams are betting that it will go up and these contracts will age well because players are now being paid based on what they might do in the future, not what they've done. Teams can't afford to pay some 30something for points they put up 5 years ago. That's why some contracts age great and others age terribly. It's not the old days where you had to earn everything and you were probably underpaid in your prime, so you have to make it up when you're over the hill. Now, because there's a Cap, teams have to hinge their bets on someone's potential. Sometimes, the contract ages great, other times, not so much. Rantanen is 29 and nearing the point of being over the hill, so his contract has the potential to age a lot worse than Necas'. It's usually the teams that hinge their bets on younger players who haven't reached their peak who end up better off than the teams who sign guys who are pushing 30 to long term contracts. Right now, it's an overpayment. But in a couple of years, it could look like a bargain and Mikko's contract could be an anchor. You just don't know. Personally, I'd rather pay for potential than for what a player has already done because once they near 30, they're unlikely to duplicate any heady numbers.
Avs management screwed up and they know it.
As a Canes fan, I think all 3 teams are in better places post situation. Having watched Drury and Necas, the Avs have 2 studs. Rantanen didn't fit in Carolina and that was very obvious, but Stankoven fits perfectly with Brind Amour's style, which is why we loved him being extended. Rantanen fits in Dallas and is thriving. The only down side is Necas improving in the postseason. If he does that, as a guy who loved Necas, he gets into that conversation of a top 10 player. Also, moving Rantanen to Dallas allowed us to get Miller and Ehlers, who have been great. In my opinion, and I'm no Hockey guru, but I think all 3 teams are pleased with their potential futures.
If avs signed Mikko last year for even 12 million, they wouldn’t have drury, they wouldn’t have Nelson, and they likely wouldn’t have burns and Oloffson, and they likely would have had to do some surgery to fit landy back into the active cap. This trade made all the sense in the world for the Avs. Mikko is better than Necas 1 to 1 right now, no question, but will that be the case in a year? I’m not so sure. Also Necas has been dynamic with Nate, it’s hard to believe but so far it looks better than it did with Mikko.
As an Avs fan i would much rather have paid Mikko to keep him around. He was a franchise player and he deserved to have his number in the rafters when his career is done and theres no way thats happening now. I'll never forgive Cmac for what is essentially betraying Mikko like that.
5:40 as an avs fan one of the main reasons they likely didn't take that risk is because since kadri walked it took far too long to get a second line centre on the avs killing off two years of the cup window, so if it took that long to replace a 2c walking loosing mikko to free agency could have shut the teams window
THE money that raantenen lost out on is more then my lifetime earnings.
The fact that he wanted to make near MacKinnon money is insane. He’s a winger that doesn’t really play much defense or backcheck hard. I liked Mikko in Colorado because he fit his role nicely, a giant horse to win puck battles and score goals. He isn’t nearly as valuable as MacKinnon and certainly not as valuable as Makar, whose upcoming extension certainly played a role in the decision to trade him. Obtaining Necas gives the Avs a speedy, skilled forward that fits in very well in Colorado, plus they were able to add center depth with Drury and Nelson. Colorado played this very nicely.
Subpar take
Necas fits the team better.
If they signed Mikko, to start this summer, they’d have to sign/trade for a:
– 2C
– 3C
– 4C
– 2-3 depth wings
Oh and do all of this with $5-$6M in cap space 😂.
This isn’t Necas vs. Mikko it’s depth vs. 1 “elite” line.
The “elite” line just wasn’t working. If they didn’t put 2-3 goals a game they lost. As an Avs fan it was obvious.
Letting mikko go was a massive mistake.
The Avs most likely offered Mikko more than 12 and turned it down because he thought he’d get more somewhere else!!
100% his agent mismanaged it
Oh, these guys collective cope is sad. The Leafs are a shitshow, the Avs are not. Necas will benefit from playing with MacKinnon more than Moose because of his work ethic. AvsNation has zero regret. The Avs are deeper now than prior to the trade. Cope harder, Toronto Fans🤣🤣🤣
Necas is several years younger than Rant which is good and it starts a year later. Necas deal is good. I have no problem with it. I hate that Mikko is in Dallas, but I'm happy with Necas. Necas is faster and works harder. Mikko is an incredible shot. They are both great players.
Necas signs an 8- Year Extension, so lets talk about Mikko Rantanen for 10 minutes 🙄
Group of nobodies who think they understand everything, talking about things they dont know nothing about. 9 minutes of empty talking.
Necas>rantenen all day
Colorado got a great deal out of all this. Rantanen is going to enjoy his life in Dallas and Necas is doing awesome. No need to fight between the two of them. I'm just sad that Rantanen pretty much had his shirt already frozen right next to Nate. Would've been part of one of potentially legendary pairs in the hockey history and his misjudge of listening his terrible manager ruined all that from the history books.
Important things to remember:
-Rantanen and Colorado were very close on an extension BEFORE Draisaitly signed his extension, the summer before last. Mikko's agent blew up the deal once Draisaitl signed his extension. THAT is where that $14 million starting ask comes from.
-It's been reported by multiple outlets that the Avalanche DID offer Mikko $12.5 million and he refused. I'm not saying the information these hosts get from around the league isn't accurate or incomplete, but they also aren't "insiders," either. Insinuating that Rantanen would have stayed in Colorado for $12 million or $12.5 million defies what a lot of reports about the situation said.
-It's important to remember that Rantanen's contract started THIS season and Necas' new deal won't kick in until NEXT season. That's an extra year of Necas at $6.5 million.
-"Only $500k less than Rantanen" is kind of disingenuous because Rantanen ONLY signed in Dallas at $12 million because of the tax situation there. If it weren't for the lack of an income tax in Texas, Rantanen would have had a much higher number.
-The story about contract negotiations and the ensuing trades has changed a few times, from Mikko Rantanen and his agent. From it being a shock to the Avs allegedly making a distinct final offer to Mikko reportedly telling Carolina he didn't want to sign an extension with them as soon as he got there, and then a lot of these statements being walked back, it's hard to separate how much is truth and how much is Rantanen's camp trying to spin things.
Bottom line: Rantanen's agent messed up if Mikko really wanted to stay in Colorado. They all but had a deal done before Draisaitl signed in Edmonton and then all of a sudden Mikko's ask became $14 million. The agent let a big payday get in the way of what his client (supposedly) really wanted and now the Avalanche have a potential 100 point player under contract for the next 8+ seasons for less than Mikko Rantanen is making on another team with its own cap issues.
AVS fans, say what ever makes you feel better
As an avs fans, most of us don't regret the trade after Necas's signing. We also love the depth we've been able to accrue with the trade as well.
As an Avs fan it wasn't great seeing Mikko go…but all these people acting like Necas is a bum and shouldn't even receive half this money don't know Hockey. Even this year Necas has 17 points in 13 games and is +9….Mikko has 14 in 12 and is -2….that is very similar production outside of +/-… so looks like the trade is working out for both parties, as for who "made the biggest mistake" you have to look at Mikko's agent as if you follow rumour he pushed for 14 from the Avs…got told no, pushed for 14 from the Canes….got told no….pushed for 14 from Dallas…got told no then gets told Texas is a zero income tax state and magically 12.5 a year is agreed. Would Mikko have agreed to that in Colorado? probably as the team that drafted him and got him to superstar level…but we won't ever know for sure…..as even though he is the only person who knows with 100% certainty whether he wanted to stay or not…Mikko will always be doubted when ever he says "Yes I would have stayed" purely because of human nature.
Avs are a better team now than they were with Mikko 23-24.
What a small minded take. Not even looking at the whole picture
You are correct, Moose and the Avs had actually come to a rough agreement when Draisaitl got his contract, so Moose's agent (same person right?) broke the handshake and wanted to head back to the table, which tanked everything
Who the hell do you know that says he would have signed that . Because no one that covers the avs ever heard that
Same production but less money and he's 2 years younger. Mikko took the dallas deal because there is no luxury tax in texas.
Of course you take Rantanen with 12,5M over Necas with 11,5M especially on the Avs, where you need a left shooting sniping star player. Even if Necas was lefty, Rantanen is a well proven star in the playoffs aswell a real playoff performer. Thats pure gold for your team to have him. Neccas could be that in the future, Rantanen has been that, is that, and probably will be that in the future.
Mikko better than Necas, Drury, and Nelson? That's what the trade actually got. Avs win, they needed depth. So does Dallas, they needed a star. So does Carolina, Stank is a better fit than Necas for their play. It was a good trade.
How do people not understand this. He only said this AFTER he was traded. This is again awful reporting. He was holding firm on 14M in negotiations with the Avs.
On top of it they'd have Rants on the books for 12M this year if he would've signed… vs Necas (an arguably better fit) at 6.5M currently. This freed up room for Burns, Malinski, Nelson and Landy.
How brain dead are you Steve?
You have to bear in mind a few things for the Avs. They are deeper because of the trade. A slight downgrade in RW allowed them to bring in a 2C, a 3C, and solidify some other depth options. Yes, there were other costs to that, but if they dont have that space at the top, nothing else works out as it has. The question of if it has worked out better in the long run is always going to be a debate.
Another thing to consider is the trauma of having a fan favorite, legacy homegrown star pay lip service to staying, even to the point of talking about a hometown discount. Keeping that player for a failed playoff run….then having him bail to a division rival in the offseason. That was one of Sakic's first fails as a GM, and it likely stuck with him.
I think at the moment Both Rantanen and Necas are pretty happy where they are. Rantanen gets to be a part of Finnish mafia and Necas gets to play with MacKinnon and Makar. And there should be some healthy rivalry when Dallas and Avs meet.
Just get over it, they are better off without him and I think Mikko is happy in Dallas with the rest of the mafia. Game 7 hatrick was Mikko’s drop the mic moment.
You do realize what he signed with the Stars, was offered by the Avs to right!? He turned it down wanting 14. So this argument is irrelevant