Avalanche practice seemed normal again Monday as Mikko Rantanen practiced for the first time, two days after signing a six-year, $55.5 million contract.
Rantanen, who was a restricted free agent, was reunited with linemates Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon, and coach Jared Bednar said he will play Thursday against Calgary in the season opener.
“It feels great,… said Rantanen, who missed all of training camp and all six preseason games. “I was waiting for this pretty much since training camp started with the negotiations -- it’s all business -- but I’m really happy to be back. I was confident it would get done before the season starts.…
Rantanen, who had been practicing with SC Bern in Switzerland, returned to his native Finland on Friday and said he received a call at midnight Saturday from his agent, Mike Liut, informing him of the contract offer. He left Finland Sunday morning and arrived in Denver at 8:30 p.m. MT.
“I was expecting less energy today, but I felt surprisingly good,… he said. “I felt good, I’ve been skating a lot. Team practices are a lot different than playing in a game, but I’ll get in some good practices.…
Mikko takes his spot on the Top Line.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/yvB1d0Pacm
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 30, 2019
Rantanen set career highs last season with 87 points (31 goals, 56 assists) in 74 games and had 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 12 Stanley Cup playoff games.
“It’s good to have the big moose back on the ice,… Bednar said. “I thought he was making plays, he had lots of jump. Obviously, he’s got a little bit of adrenaline going, and hopefully he still has the same energy (Tuesday) and it leads into Thursday.
“There’s excitement, you’re definitely relieved that it’s done and he can get here to start the season. You don’t want those things to linger. We’re certainly happy for Mikko, it’s a well-earned contract. He’s a big piece to our success, so we’re excited as much as we are relieved.…
Rantanen said he was beginning to worry that he might miss the start of the season.
“When it goes one week before the season starts, you start thinking about it more, you start thinking you’re going to miss some games,… he said.
Being reunited with MacKinnon and Landeskog helped to ease Rantanen into the practice session.
“We’ve played together for almost 200 games, so there’s not much talk you have to do,… he said. “You kind of know what to do even though we haven’t seen each other for four or five months.…
Said MacKinnon: “It sucks that it went this long, but he’s back now. He hasn’t missed a step at all. He looks really good, so it’s awesome to have him back.…
Landeskog joked that Rantanen was lucky to miss training camp. “We were working our tails off and he was on vacation,… he said.
Landeskog added: “Obviously we’re very happy to have him back. It was very exciting to see him back on the ice. I wasn’t really too worried about it. He looked unbelievable. He’s fresh, well rested.…