Despite the turmoil of his regular season, Mikko Rantanen has been the best player in the postseason. But what could he have earned if he did not sign with the Stars?

Brière was a monster in that series scoring six goals to lead the Flyers. The Sabres had a 3-2 series lead headed into Game 6 at home, but Brière scored twice in Game 6 as Philadelphia won 5-4 in overtime, on a goal by soon-to-be-Sabre Ville Leino. Brière also scored in Game 7 that gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead in a game they went on to win 5-2.

The Avalanche first dealt Rantanen, a 2022 Stanley Cup champion while sharing the ice with Kadri, in January to the Carolina Hurricanes before he forced a trade-deadline move to the Stars. Immediately following his trade to Dallas, the Stars signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension —a deal Colorado reportedly refused to match.

Rantanen is now the first player in NHL history to record five three-point efforts in their first 10 games of the playoffs. Evgeni Malkin, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evander Kane are the only players to have recorded four three-point games in their first 10 contests of a postseason.

Earlier this year, the GM of the Colorado Avalanche made a huge deal by sending Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. With this transaction, he cancelled out the possibility of losing the big Finn for absolutely nothing.

Good morning to everyone except linesmen who won’t just drop the puck already. James Mirtle usually handles Thursday morning newsletter duties, but he was busy covering last night’s Leafs game. So you’ve got Sean McIndoe again, which means the newsletter will be pretty much the same, just shorter and more handsome.