ST. LOUIS — Second-year Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen doesn’t consider it a snub, because he understands the NHL’s design to have every team represented at this weekend’s All-Star Game in Tampa, Fla.
So he’ll quietly spend the weekend back in Denver after Thursday’s game against the Blues at Scottrade Center.
“Next year,” Rantanen said with a smile after Thursday’s morning skate.
The Big Finn is considered an all-star by Nathan MacKinnon and the rest of the Avs. Rantanen, 21, has played right wing on MacKinnon’s line all season and is tied as the Central Division’s fifth-leading scorer with 47 points (17 goals); MacKinnon, Colorado’s lone all-star representative, leads the division and is second in the NHL with 60 points (24 goals).