Mikko Rantanen is seeking a shocking amount on his next contract

According to a report from TSN NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the Colorado Avalanche may not be able to afford pending unrestricted free agent Mikko Rantanen this upcoming offseason.

The NHL's highest paid player this season is Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews who is pulling in $13.2 million. Next season Leon Draisaitl's $14 million annual contract extension kicks in and LeBrun reports that Rantanen and his representation believe that he's worth as much as Draisaitl.

"This negotiation to me is going to be so interesting to see where it ends up. Can the Avalanche get Rantanen at $12.6 million or less? I'll tell you right now that Rantanen believes he can get $14 million on the open market."

- Pierre LeBrun

Looking at Rantanen's statistics and his team's success with him playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon and it's hard to argue that he's not worth top dollar. But... something's got to give when it comes to the team's cap situation. Nathan MacKinnon makes $12.6 million and he's worth every penny. But Gabriel Landeskog's (LTIR) $7 million annual salary and Valeri Nichushkin's $6.125 million salary are hampering this team's decisions moving forward.

Add in the fact that the team needs to do some long-term planning for Cale Makar's new contract due in 2027 and the Avs will be forced to make some creative moves to keep everyone under contract over the next few seasons.