Never cross Mikko Rantanen.
Fresh off of snapping a nine-game goalless drought in his team's 6-5 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday night, the Colorado Avalanche superstar took aim at the father of one of his teammates for publicly criticizing Rantanen's offseason preparation.
"Actually, one thing where I got a lot of extra energy, one of our Finnish NHL players' dad was talking shit about me in the media, (saying) that I didn't train last summer like I used to do," Rantanen said postgame, per DNVR Avalanche. "He was just making things up. That was for him. If you talk shit, it's going to come back at you."
Rantanen was referring to an interview Artturi Lehkonen's father, Ismo, gave to Yle, a Finnish broadcasting company where the elder Lehkonen works as an analyst. Ismo suggested Rantanen "didn't have a very good summer," as translated by Finnish journalist Ville Touru for The Athletic.
"There was a lot happening, many events of all kinds," Ismo continued. "He had to visit Helsinki and everything like that. ā¦ Perhaps he consciously took the summer a little more calmly after the hard years. And maybe he didn't practice as much as in previous summers."
Despite the recent drama, Rantanen assured The Athletic that he and Artturi's relationship "is totally fine," adding that they are "totally good friends and teammates."
Rantanen currently leads the Avalanche with 13 goals and ranks third on the team with 34 points in 28 games. He's on track for 38 markers and just under 100 points this season.
Last season, the Finn became the first player in franchise history to hit the 50-goal mark in a single campaign since Milan Hejduk in 2002-03. He also amassed a career-high 105 points and placed sixth in Hart Trophy voting.
Rantanen led Colorado with a three-point effort Monday against the Flames. He knotted the contest at 5-5 just past the midway mark of the final frame, setting the table for Nathan MacKinnon's game-winning goal two minutes later.
The victory improved the Central-leading Avalanche to 17-9-2. However, Colorado ranks third in the division in terms of points percentage (.643), trailing the Dallas Stars (.648) and Winnipeg Jets (.654).
The Avalanche have yet to embark on their annual dad's trip this season.
