Mikko Rantanen is enjoying a standout season, but it appears that the Colorado Avalanche and the star winger are not close to reaching a new contract agreement.

The Colorado Avalanche and superstar winger Mikko Rantanen are at an impasse in contract extension negotiations, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday's Amazon "Coast to Coast" broadcast.

Wyatt Johnston is expected to center the top line with Hintz out. Rookie forwards Matej Blumel and Justin Hryckowian will play in the bottom six with forwards Mason Marchment (face) and Tyler Seguin (hip) each continuing to recover from surgery. -- Taylor Baird

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Mikko Rantanen hasn’t yet signed a contract extension and an NHL reporter for TVA Sports, Renaud Lavoie, believes the Avalanche will trade the superstar winger if they’re unable to agree to terms before the trade deadline.

Sure, the Avs could manage to get that under their cap, but some fans and pundits wonder should Rantanen make more than Nathan MacKinnon, who makes $12.6 million on annual average value? More questions are being asked with the trade deadline approaching whether the Avalanche will be comfortable with waiting until this summer to re-sign Rantanen at the risk of losing him for nothing once free agency opens on July 1st.

The Colorado Avalanche may soon face a defining decision on star Mikko Rantanen with the ... him" if Colorado "can't extend Rantanen" ahead of the March 7 NHL trade deadline.

According to a report from TVA Sports journalist Renaud Lavoie, he has suggested that the Colorado Avalanche may end up trading their star forward Mikko Rantanen.

Mikko Rantanen is one of the most underrated superstars ... His chemistry with Nathan MacKinnon is borderline unstoppable. But the NHL is a business, and it just might not be possible for the ...

It likely won't happen, but if the Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner and Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen don't re-sign before March, a 1-for-1 trade could be worth considering.

The Panthers struggle on the road and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is starting to show his age. Mikko Rantanen will make them pay tonight. The Colorado Avalanche host the Florida Panthers this evening at Ball Arena at 9:00 p.m. ET. NHL odds have Colorado as a -130 favorite, while the total sits at 6.5.