Rantanen, Avalanche will wait for offseason to start contract negotiations

The Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen won't be holding contract negotiations until the offseason, the superstar winger revealed during his media availability at the All-Star festivities on Thursday night.

Mikko Rantanen says he and the Avalanche plan to wait until off-season to dive into contract negotiations. #NHLAllStar

- luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) January 25, 2019

Rantanen is making his first All-Star Game appearance. He's in the middle of a career-best season while ranking second in league scoring with 74 points in 50 games.

The 21-year-old is playing out the final season of his entry-level contract. He'll be part a potentially stacked restricted free-agent class that could also feature Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Patrik Laine, Sebastian Aho, Matthew Tkachuk, and Brayden Point.

Rantanen is on track for a significant payday after his 84-point output last season, and with his 121-point pace in 2018-19. The Avalanche are in good shape to re-sign him, as the team will have roughly $34.3 million in available cap space for the 2019-20 season, per Cap Friendly.

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