For the love of Claude (Lemeiux), can we please stop comparing Mikko Rantanen to Matt Duchene?
Yes, they’re both Dallas Stars now. Yes, they’re both the enemy, as far as Avalanche fans are concerned. Yes, you have every right to boo their tails off on Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena when the Stars come to town in the Moose’s return to Denver, where he helped the Avs lift the Stanley Cup.
But this whole, “Mikko is Duchene all over again” thing? Sorry, but the puckheads up in the Grading The Week offices can’t see a like-for-like. Not exactly. Consider:
• Duchene scored three goals with six assists in his final 33 games with the Avalanche.
• The Moose scored 16 goals and logged 27 helpers in his final 33 appearances in burgundy and blue.
• Duchene said this after being traded from Colorado to Ottawa: “Asking for a trade out of Colorado, from Joe Sakic, who was my idol, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
• Rantanen said this to Dallas reporters last week: “Colorado was always where I wanted to stay, but I understand it’s business and they made a decision.”
• When Duchene was dealt in 2017, Avs defender Erik Johnson said this of the ex-Av: “He didn’t want to be a Colorado Avalanche anymore. The fact that he didn’t want to be a player for the team anymore, I think guys in the room were kind of waiting for it to happen too. We all want to play for this team and win in Denver, and he wanted to go somewhere else. That’s his right.”
• When Rantanen was dealt by Carolina earlier this month, Avs coach Jared Bednar said this of the Moose: “I’m happy for Mikko that he got signed and got a deal and a place where he obviously wanted to go … He’s a great teammate. He’s been a great player for us. And we were able to win together. And I’ll never forget that … and I wish them the best there. Just not against us.”
Calling Rantanen the “new Duchene” — D
So, yeah, not the same. Not quite. True, both players were traded. True, both players had agendas. Duchene wanted to win now. Mikko wanted to get Leion Draisaitl dollars.
But remember this, too: Duchene forced Joe Sakic’s hand. By all accounts, Avs GM Chris MacFarland’s hand in late January was forced more by Rantanen’s agent and his management team. If the Moose was, indeed, bluffing, then the Avs called him on it. What’s done is done.
Fun fact: The Avs are 12-5-1 since the Rantanen trade. Carolina went 6-7-0 with Moose in the lineup, while Dallas is off to a 1-2-0 start in the Rantanen Era, with all three appearances coming on the road so far. Mikko’s basically 7-9-0 since leaving town.
Do the Avs miss Moose on the ice? That’s a TBD. Thanks to a flurry of trades (Rantanen wasn’t the first move, just the biggest), Colorado has a better team for a Cup run (on paper) than it did at Christmas. Now will the Avs miss him more if free agents such as Brock Nelson and Ryan Lindgren walk this summer? No question.
Knowing the hockey gods’ wicked sense of humor, they’ll probably figure out a way for Mikko and Matt to hook up for at least one goal against the Avs on Sunday. And if not Sunday, then probably in the postseason — where it’ll sting even more.
Mikko in Stars green is … well, it’s complicated. You might think Rantanen is a bit louche these days. He’s not Duchene.
Xfinity messing up Nathan MacKinnon’s 1,000th point — F
Geez. All those lawyers. All those dollars. All those years. All those moments missed. And only a month into Avalanche games returning to Xfinity viewers, in one of the biggest moments since KSE and Comcast kissed and made up, everybody dropped the ball. Or rather, the puck.
Instead of being able to watch Nathan MacKinnon record his 1,000th career point vs. Chicago this past Monday night, the feed during the third period unexpectedly cut to a documentary on Nikola Jokic, which KSE then blamed on a “software malfunction.” MacK deserved better. Avs fans deserved better. When it comes to Xfinity and Denver customers, at least the disappointment and darkness felt sadly familiar.
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