Report: Contract talks slowing down Rantanen trade before deadline

The NHL Trade Deadline has been wild so far, and the Colorado Avalanche have been in the thick of it, as general manager Chris MacFarland has reshaped this team and given up a lot of future assets to win now. The first domino to fall was the Mikko Rantanen trade to Carolina back in January, and now Rantanen has new trade drama just hours before the deadline.

Late Thursday night, all signs were pointing to Rantanen being traded to the Dallas Stars, a move that would make the Western Conference a nightmare of a gauntlet for any team in pursuit of a Stanley Cup. However, the sun has risen on Friday, and the ex-Avalanche star is still in Carolina. The framework was in line for the trade, but not the extension afterwards.

What’s the hold up?

Here’s the Mikko Rantanen situation as it stands now:

Step 1 was DAL and CAR agreeing to the framework of a trade, which happened.

Step 2 is DAL reaching a contract extension with Mikko Rantanen, which hasn’t happened.

There’s no trade without Step 2 being satisfied.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 7, 2025

Contract talks were the same reason the 2022 Stanley Cup Champion was traded away from Colorado weeks ago, and all signs show that his camp didn’t figure out an extension with Carolina after the trade, and now they can’t come to terms with Dallas.

Is Rantanen still going to end up in Dallas and possibly square up against his former team in the playoffs?

There is no deal between Dallas and Carolina for Mikko Rantanen. It appears Carolina may have to go back to the drawing board. Doesn’t mean a deal/extension with Dallas can’t materialize, but it’s not there as of now.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 7, 2025

It’s odd for a player (especially of this talent) and his representatives to struggle to find a deal with this many teams, especially contenders.

Martin Necas, who was the main asset coming back to Colorado in the original Rantanen trade, spoke on the trade after the Avalanche’s 7-3 win over San Jose Thursday.

“They probably should have known that he would sign in Carolina… there’s lots of rumors,” Necas said.

Rantanen’s time in Carolina has not been memorable, as the winger has just six points and is a -3 on the ice in 13 games played. The question is, is he in a slump? Or is this what it looks like when he’s not sharing the ice with Nathan MacKinnon?

As of 8:30 a.m. MT, reports are that Dallas is willing to approach the $12 million number annually on a deal with Rantanen, a number that was similar to what Colorado offered him. It seems that he’s seeking upwards of $14 million per year. Even Carolina reportedly offered him a $12.75 million AAV deal, but he still wasn’t able to come to an agreement.

See where it goes, but I’m confident the Dallas Stars are/were willing to go to upwards of $12 million per to extend Rantanen. A big number for the Stars given contract challenges moving forward. Unless something changes, that’s well short.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 7, 2025

The NHL Trade Deadline is at 1:00 p.m. MT on Friday. Will the Avalanche continue to be aggressive? Will the former Colorado star be on the move again? Many questions linger into the final hours.