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.

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,

Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen has been one of the top-scoring players in the NHL over the past several seasons. His contract is set to expire this summer, making him arguably the top pending UFA in the league. Colorado has been trying to re-sign him but to this point, obviously no deal has been reached yet.

According to PuckPedia, MacKinnon's cap hit of $12.6 million took 15.09% of the Avalanche's salary cap. If Rantanen signs for a slightly lower percentage of 15% under the new cap, expected to reach $92.4 million, he'd already earn $13.86 million per season and easily top MacKinnon's salary.