The Colorado Avalanche and star forward Mikko Rantanen have come to terms on a new long-term contract. According to TSN analyst Mike Kelly, it's a six-year deal worth 9.25 million per season.
There had been plenty of reports that Colorado GM Joe Sakic doesn't want a bridge contract with Rantanen as he didn't want all of his restricted free agents coming up for renewal at the same time. If that had happened, it would have been next to impossible to bring them all back and remain under the salary cap. Colorado currently has a team built around young, fast, offensively gifted names that seem tailor-made for the new style of play in the NHL.
With Rantanen's signing, the last big-name restricted free agent left on the market would be Winnipeg's Kyle Connor.
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