Grading The Week: Avalanche fans want to boo Mikko Rantanen at Ball Arena? Fine. But please, please stop calling him the new Matt Duchene

For the love of Claude (Lemeiux), can we please stop comparing Mikko Rantanen to Matt Duchene?

Yes, they’re both Dallas Stars now. Yes, they’re both the enemy, as far as Avalanche fans are concerned. Yes, you have every right to boo their tails off on Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena when the Stars come to town in the Moose’s return to Denver, where he helped the Avs lift the Stanley Cup.

But this whole, “Mikko is Duchene all over again” thing? Sorry, but the puckheads up in the Grading The Week offices can’t see a like-for-like. Not exactly. Consider:

• Duchene scored three goals with six assists in his final 33 games with the Avalanche.

• The Moose scored 16 goals and logged 27 helpers in his final 33 appearances in burgundy and blue.

• Duchene said this after being traded from Colorado to Ottawa: “Asking for a trade out of Colorado, from Joe Sakic, who was my idol, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

• Rantanen said this to Dallas reporters last week: “Colorado was always where I wanted to stay, but I understand it’s business and they made a decision.”

• When Duchene was dealt in 2017, Avs defender Erik Johnson said this of the ex-Av: “He didn’t want to be a Colorado Avalanche anymore. The fact that he didn’t want to be a player for the team anymore, I think guys in the room were kind of waiting for it to happen too. We all want to play for this team and win in Denver, and he wanted to go somewhere else. That’s his right.”

• When Rantanen was dealt by Carolina earlier this month, Avs coach Jared Bednar said this of the Moose: “I’m happy for Mikko that he got signed and got a deal and a place where he obviously wanted to go. … He’s a great teammate. He’s been a great player for us. And we were able to win together. And I’ll never forget that … and I wish them the best there. Just not against us.”

Calling Rantanen the “new Duchene” — D

So, yeah, not the same. Not quite. True, both players were traded. True, both players had agendas. Duchene wanted to win now. Mikko wanted to get Leion Draisaitl dollars.

But remember this, too: Duchene forced Joe Sakic’s hand. By all accounts, Avs GM Chris MacFarland’s hand in late January was forced more by Rantanen’s agent and his management team. If the Moose was, indeed, bluffing, then the Avs called him on it. What’s done is done.

Fun fact: The Avs are 12-5-1 since the Rantanen trade. Carolina went 6-7-0 with Moose in the lineup, while Dallas is off to a 1-2-0 start in the Rantanen Era, with all three appearances coming on the road so far. Mikko’s basically 7-9-0 since leaving town.