While everyone is talking about Mitch Marner and John Tavares with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the other member of the “Big Three” free agents this summer is Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche.  Like the others listed above,

Head coach Jared Bednar has no idea why the Avalanche can’t translate their 6-on-5 attack to the power play. The real test begins with three straight divisional games. Mikko Rantanen contract talks could pick up in the coming weeks.

Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar had a blunt, one-word summation after his team rallied for a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers, calling it “unimpressive.”

The Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen are at an impasse in contract negotiations, as the star winger’s demands diverge substantially from the team’s maximum offer. Rantanen, playing in the final season of a six-year, $55.5 million deal while carrying a $9.25 million cap hit, is set to enter unrestricted free agency in July.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and his NHL-leading 53rd assist of the season to help the Colorado Avalanche rout the Minnesota Wild 6-1 on Thursday night. Mikko Rantanan and Logan O’Connor also each had a goal and an assist, Ross Colton, Parker Kelly and Artturi Lehkonen also scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves.

The first sign that something wasn’t right came a few minutes after the puck dropped at 1 p.m. A special weekday matinee on Martin Luther King Jr. Day should have been a treat. Instead, the Avalanche operated with the urgency of Eeyore.

Some of the issues that looked fixed two days ago in a decisive win against the Dallas Stars were again troubling for the Colorado Avalanche in a loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Yakov Trenin scored against his former team early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday.

At least this week’s three games are at home. The last time the Rangers played that many consecutive games at home was Nov. 30-Dec. 9, when they were 2-3-0 on a five-game homestand.

But Colorado’s NHL team has long had a reputation for being a quiet bunch in the locker room, even when this group reached the top of the mountain in 2022. The 2024-25 edition started the season slow, bogged down by injuries and poor goaltending. It weighed on everyone. A generally quiet room seemed even more so at times.

The Avalanche face off against the Dallas Stars at 2 p.m. MT in their first afternoon game of the season. The team plays another matinee against the Minnesota Wild on Monday.

The Colorado Avalanche (27-18-1) continue their homestand against the Dallas Stars (28-15-1) in the first of two straight matinee games. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:08 p.m. MT. READ MORE: Rantanen Extension Talks Could Pick Up Over 4 Nations Break Today’s matinee begins arguably the most important three-game stretch of the season thus far.