David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The 4 Nations Face-Off isn’t quite the same as NHL hockey, but there’s an impact players can make that can influence their financial situations.
We’re seeing that with Canada’s Mitch Marner, who scored an overtime-winner against Sweden. But on Saturday in Montreal, in a high-stakes game between Finland and Sweden, we saw Finnish star right winger Mikko Rantanen have himself quite the day, with a goal and an amazing setup for Finland’s game-tying third goal.
It was shocking enough when Rantanen was traded this season, but rumors that he could be dealt again by the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline are verging on preposterous. To be sure, we understand why people are talking about it, as Rantanen remains a looming UFA, and if the Carolina Hurricanes can’t get his signature on a contract extension by the trade deadline, they’ll be risking him walking away for nothing this summer. But from a talent perspective, how are you going to replace the skill, determination and championship pedigree Rantanen brings to the table?
The short answer – you can’t replace it. If that means Rantanen has leverage in contract talks, so be it. But he’s proving he’s worth every penny of a raise that he’s due to get this off-season. The Hurricanes had to know that when they pulled the trigger on the trade for Rantanen, and now, it’s up to ‘Canes GM Eric Tulsky to figure out how to fit him into his team’s salary cap structure. If he can’t do that, and Rantanen is essentially a rental this season, that will be a massive failure by Tulsky. If Rantanen was good enough to trade a star like Martin Necas for, he’s clearly good enough to be compensated like one.
Rantanen’s terrific combination of talent and grit is what makes him so dangerous. And the gumption it takes to deliver big things when the stakes are at their highest is an intangible that few of his NHL colleagues can boast of. He’s showing that at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and he’s making himself richer with every shift he plays.
Whether it’s for Finland or for Carolina, Rantanen is proving himself worthy of all the praise he gets, and the idea he can be traded twice in his career – let alone twice in the same season – is bordering on insanity. We’re talking about an elite performer who succeeds when the games matter most, and any team he plays for from this point on ought to know better than to ever consider life without him.
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