The legend of Mikko Rantanen: A look at the importance of numbers

Mikko Rantanen’s hero was Sidney Crosby and the star of the Pittsburgh Penguins picked No. 87 to wear based on his birth year. Thus, Mikko rolls with No. 96, the year he entered the world.

Milestones are defined by fluidity. Forty-nine means nothing, but in hockey, 50 is special.

Numbers in sports mean something. We assign interpretations to the digits attached to our heroes debating who is the greatest, which should have an asterisk and what round integers are best. But the numbers only acquire meaning by comparison and we as a sports-loving society now have hundreds of thousands of games worth of data and centuries of seasons that tell us the importance of just about everything.

On Thursday night in San Jose, 96 plus three equaled 52.

In modern NHL seasons, there are about 70 hat tricks per year over the about 1,230 games played. Rantanen notched the sixth of his career against the Sharks, tying for 197th most in NHL history.

This one carried more meaning than the others not because this one was heroic or was particularly important to the Avs season but for the reason of 50 scores in one season.

Sitting on 49 goals at puck drop, late in the first period Rantanen swept up a following a Nathan MacKinnon shot late, beating fellow Finn and in this case Fins goalie Kaapo Kahkonen.

The score was important in the game, tying the count at one.

From a Finnish perspective, the goal placed Mikko in select company. Only two other players in that proud country’s hockey history have topped the 50-goal milestone. Jari Kurri passed the mark four times, and Teemu Selanne twice. There’s no chance Mikko gets to 77 to beat Teemu, but to think the last time a Finn passed 50 was 1998 is just stunning.

From an Avalanche perspective, it was nearly just as long, twenty years to the day, that this goal-scoring occasion occurred when Milan Hejduk picked up his half-a-century.

But Rantanen was just heating up.

In the second period, off a sweet dish from Evan Rodrigues, Mikko would tie Joe Sakic from the 1995-1996 season with his 51st goal of the year. It gave Colorado a 2-1 lead.

Now ahead of Mikko in the club’s history book is his boss Sakic, who put up a 54-goal season in 2000-2001.

If you want to peruse up the record book, look at Michel Goulet’s 55, 56, and 57-goal seasons with the Nordiques.

What seemed ridiculous suddenly became beyond realistic as Mikko picked up his third hat trick of the season. Craftily burying a beautiful pass from MacKinnon, he scored his 52nd goal, making the score 4-1.

What in the world was happening in the shark tank?!?

Kaapo got capped for backup goalie James Reimer, which worked magic for the home team. The response was quick as Steven Lorentz beat Alexander Georgiev, closing the gap to 4-2.

However, any hope the sullied Sharks may have had was squashed like a melon. The action was breathtaking as the Avs crushed an inferior opponent in a dominant fashion.

Ben Meyers created significant breathing room for the Avs, picking up his second goal of the year. Later in the third, Meyers would grab another one to extend the lead to an insurmountable four goals.

The Avs easily polished off the Sharks 6-2, allowing the team to take a well-deserved breath, appreciating the brilliance of Mikko.

“It’s tough to describe the way these guys play,” said Meyers, sounding like a fantasy camp participant. “We are really happy for him.”

“Everybody looks at this point,” reflected Mikko on the broadcast about checking the standings while downplaying his own accomplishment. “Some teams have three left; we have five. You kind of look every day to see what happens. We just try to focus on our game and focus on our division.”

While Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar are the best players on this first-place team, Mikko Rantanen has proved to be this season’s MVP. As the team has suffered through injury after injury, it was Mikko’s steady stick and somewhat saucy tongue that kept the season in balance. He has earned the respect of the fans and most importantly his loving teammates. After the 50th goal went in, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Girard raced to grab the souvenir puck.

The hugs, smiles, and overall jubilation were shared by all. It was the brightest light in a challenging season.

“Obviously, our whole team is happy for him,” said proud coach Jared Bednar. “I’m sure it’s been on his mind for a little bit. He’s put in the work to be an elite goal scorer. To get the record is really special.”

Rantanen is a steady go-to guy in the locker room. He is polite, witty, and kind. He consistently gives thoughtful answers, always beyond generous with his time. Everybody around him is continually treated with respect, and for that, it comes back to him in waves.

The hockey gods were clearly smiling on a special player who was surrounded by the karma of numbers.

Those numbers will live on in the team and the league’s record book. A book that is constantly being re-written yet is over 100 years old and filled with facts and info. There are fewer greater glories as an athlete than claiming you were the one who forced the record book to be rewritten but that’s what Mikko did on Tuesday. And when you lay waste to history, honor follows.

Rantanen’s number of goals will now be in a special book but soon his jersey number will hang from the Ball Arena rafters. He’s an all-time Avalanche player, having an all-time season following up the ring he just earned.

When Rantanen first tied up his skates in Nousiainen and asked for No. 96, it meant something to him and nothing to anyone else. Now No. 96 means something to all of Denver, and it’s only fitting No. 96 picked up goals 50, 51 and 52 on the 96th day of 2023.

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