Colorado Avalanche v Seattle Kraken — Mikko Rantanen claps back at Finnish NHL players' father for his off-season comments

Mikko Rantanen claps back at Finnish NHL players' father for his off-season comments

Modified Dec 12, 2023 07:12 GMT

After a sluggish performance from Mikko Rantanen in the last four games, the Colorado Avalanche forward bounced back with a stunning performance to help the Avs beat the Calgary Flames in what was an 11-goal thriller on Monday.

Rantanen notched up three points in the contest. During the post-game interview, Mikko Rantanen didn't hold back and attributed his three points as a response to all the criticism heaped on him by one of the Finnish players' fathers.

However, it is worth noting that Mikkonen didn't name the name of the person he was talking about in the interview. But reports suggest that it was Arturri Lehkonen's father, Ismo Lehkonen.

Notably, Ismo is a hockey analyst in Finland and was the one to report that Mikko was not training well in the summer. Here's what Rantanen said post-game:

"It was good. And actually, one thing where I got a lot of extra energy and one of our Finnish NHL players' dads was talking sh*t about me in the media was that I didn't train last summer like I used to do. He was just making things up, so I think that was for him. If you talk sh*t, then it's going to come back to you."

How has Mikko Rantanen fared at the Colorado Avalanche this season?

Rantanen has been one of the top forwards for the Avalanche on offense. This season, the 27-year-old Finnish forward has notched up 34 points through 13 goals and 21 assists in 28 games.

He is the third-leading scorer for the Avs after Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Last season, Rantanen had a career-high campaign with 105 points, accounting for an impressive 55 goals and 50 assists.

Meanwhile, with the win over the Flames, the Colorado Avalanche moved atop the Central Division with 36 points after 28 games. The Avs have a 5-3-2 record in the last 10 outings.

Mikko Rantanen will look to add to his tally when the Avalanche face the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. The puck drops at 10 p.m. ET.