Mikko Rantanen Trade to the Hurricanes Spells Bad News for the Toronto Maple Leafs
With Friday's blockbuster trade sending Mikko Rantanen to Carolina, it makes the Toronto Maple Leafs' lives a lot harder figuring out what's next.
It's been a wild 24 hours for the NHL, as Colorado traded superstar Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes after a wild three team deal involving Chicago as well.
It was the first potential big domino to fall when it comes to who is going to be traded next, and with a lot of questions surrounding the Maple Leafs and the trade deadline, this trade brings a whole new issue to the table in regards to Mitch Marner.
Mikko Rantanen Trade Bad News For Maple Leafs And Mitch Marner Contract Extension
Though the Maple Leafs would love to keep Mitch Marner around, the team is pretty stubborn in their ways and have an internal cap on their signings.
Essentially, Auston Matthews makes $13.2M, and no one is allowed to make more than him.
Pierre LeBrun earlier this season spoke on Rantanen's then-contract situation with Colorado and how it matches up with Marner:
What I would tell you is that there is no question part of the dialogue that is a stumbling block is that much like Nathan MacKinnon's cap number much like Mikko Rantanen, they are pointing to Auston Matthews and I understand from a team perspective.
From an agent perspective, the salary cap is going up aggressively and depending on what happens it could be more.
It's not the AAV that matters it's the percentage of the cap; and if the cap is going up it's a real stumbling block.
Is there a way to massage an AAV with a deferment on a Marner extension?
Potentially, but that doesn't appeal to 90% of agents; and since the Frank Vatrano extension they are against the idea.
It comes down to this. I don't think the Leafs feel they can or will pay more than $13M, $12.5M? Is that enough for an 8-year deal?
If that's where it is, that's the I think that's the clear line of demarcation, $13 million a year."
This becomes even more of a huge concern given that not only has Marner been Toronto's best player in the midst of a career year, but if he keeps this pace up it's going to cost even more to sign him.
Well, we saw what happened with Rantanen and how that ended up, so it's concerning for fans that they could lose Marner due to some contract squabbles.
Rantanen and Marner have very similar career paths albeit Rantanen has a lot more postseason success.
Marner has 706 points in 625 career games (209G, 497A) meanwhile Rantanen has 681 points in 619 career games (287G, 394A) but does have 101 playoff points compared to Marner's 50 points in 57 games.
It's bad news for the Maple Leafs because what now?
If Colorado is so brazen to trade Rantanen due to being unable to come to an agreement, what's stopping Brad Treliving from doing the same?
Toronto could offer $12.95M to Marner for eight years and that extra year compared to other teams could be the kicker, however if they don't want to commit to that, perhaps Marner would take a six-year deal if the team has a successful playoff run.
Colorado acquired Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and three draft picks at the end of the day, and while Necas isn't the player that Rantanen is, he's $6.5M for this season and the next, and won't be as expensive an extension as their former star would have been.
That's a hefty haul for an expiring deal, and with no extension talks in the works with Carolina and Rantanen as of yet, it feels like Colorado came away with a steal even at such a big cost.
Toronto needs forward depth and defense, and there's a big haul to be had for one of the NHL's best forwards.
If Toronto is concerned they are going to lose Marner anyways, they may be privy to make a deal for him to see if they can acquire any amount of assets for him, plus what's stopping Marner from re-signing with Toronto in the summer anyways?
There are a lot of decisions for Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs to make, but the Mikko Rantanen trade throws a whole new wrench into things, as if a player of his caliber can get traded; anyone can: including Mitch Marner.
