Last Saturday, Mikko Rantanen taunted opposing fans by gesturing to his finger, reminding the Dallas Stars he has something that only exists in their imagination — a Stanley Cup ring. On Sunday, Rantanen complained about a call that only existed in his imagination.
One is good. The other is bad. Regardless, they belong in separate conversations.
Rantanen’s temperament has received attention around the hockey world throughout the past week, for two different reasons that have been conveniently stuffed together because of timing.
First, there is his one occasional flaw: The player known locally as “the moose” often lowers his antlers at the referees. His habit of arguing calls tends to become exacerbated by losing streaks, and it came to a head last Sunday when Rantanen was called for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in as many days. It led to a constructive reprimanding from coach Jared Bednar.
And it was all a misunderstanding.
Rantanen had been entrenched in a physical battle with Will Borgen as the second period ended. “I was kind of whacking the (defenseman),” he said the next day. Before the buzzer, he saw a referee signal for an Avalanche penalty. He thought he was getting penalized for a slash or crosscheck, so he loudly let the officials know he thought the call was soft. They answered with an unsportsmanlike conduct as Rantanen skated to the locker room.
“I thought I got two plus two,” he said. He learned the reality in the room. The first penalty was on teammate Jack Johnson for tripping. “So then I kind of felt bad that I was basically yelling at the ref for nothing.”
The result was a 5-on-3 for Seattle to start the third period in a one-goal game.
“I’ve just got to try to focus more on my own game,” Rantanen said. “Even if I disagree with the officials, just try to let it go. Because it doesn’t really help.”
Rantanen leads the Avalanche in penalty minutes (56 in 63 games), and he spent 24 minutes in the box during a 12-game stretch that also included a 10-minute misconduct penalty for smashing his stick during a 5-0 loss in Tampa. Not coincidentally, the Seattle incident also occurred during a brief winless streak.
Bednar addressed it with Rantanen as the third period began.
“My thoughts are — I mean, you can’t do it. Can’t do it. He knows it,” Bednar said. “My options are, sit him the rest of the period, or talk to him and turn him loose, and hopefully he can bounce back. I don’t think Mikko had a good night prior to that. … And he takes the penalty, which hurts us again. And he can’t do it. I mean, games are too important this time of the year. Points are too important. I think he understands that. He knows that.
“So for me, as long as I have that discussion, I’d rather turn him loose and see if he can dig in and help our team win and make up for it.”
Bednar never publicly criticizes a player before having the same conversation with said player. If his comments about the Rantanen situation seem strong, it’s because Bednar feels more comfortable speaking openly and bluntly about his top players when necessary. After all, the Rantanens, MacKinnons and Makars of the world are generally heaped with praise far more than scrutiny. Rantanen has carried the Avalanche through their harshest injury stretches this season, paving a historic goal-scoring path along the way.
Bednar also reiterated to reporters three days later that Rantanen has earned the coach’s trust “to a point where he can blow up.”
“I totally understood it and learned from it,” Rantanen said of the conversation with Bednar. He also apologized to the official afterward: “I didn’t say why I yelled at him, but I said sorry about that. It always feels bad after, so I’ve just got to stop doing that.”
A few hours after those comments, Rantanen was crosschecked into the boards vs. San Jose. He sat on the ice looking exasperated for a moment, then picked himself up, rejoined the action and scored 20 seconds later. He refrained from complaining about the no-call … well, until he was seated on the bench after the goal. “I’m proud of him,” Bednar said. Baby steps.
Stemming from that topic is the moment caught on camera in Dallas: As Rantanen took his seat in the penalty box, he responded to heckling fans by sarcastically pointing at his ring finger, a reminder of the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup. (The Stars’ only title was in 1999.)
“That was unnecessary, too,” Rantanen said. “I was very frustrated that night, too.”
He had three penalties in that game, a 7-3 loss. The court of public opinion was divided on his taunting: Some called it loser energy to talk trash while getting crushed. Others, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, said Rantanen shouldn’t apologize or walk it back.
Either way, the gesture became conflated with the entirely different referee issue. One action tangibly costs Rantanen’s team. The other is entertaining, amusing and above all a refreshing display of personality in a sport that’s often critiqued for its superstars being too boring or robotic.
Rantanen is neither of those things. He acknowledged that he’s more of an emotion-on-sleeve type, but he addressed that as though it’s a bad thing. “I don’t know, maybe I have to learn to try to keep my cool,” he said. “Some guys are very good at it. I’m not very good at it.”
Valid point, if he’s just talking about staying out of trouble with the referees.
What he does once he’s in the box is an entirely different story.
