"We haven't had much dialogue since the 2019 NHL
. "No one needs the distraction, so hopefully we're going to be in contact here shortly and get something done. We kind of have a pretty good idea where he should be slotted. Hopefully, when we start our dialogue soon, it shouldn't be that hard."
Selected by the Avalanche with the No. 10 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Rantanen has 209 points (80 goals, 129 assists) in 239 regular-season games through four seasons, and 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 18 playoff games.
Rantanen is one of several high-profile RFA forwards who have yet to sign a contract for this season, including Mitchell Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks, Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets, Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames.
