It's a great day for the Colorado Avalanche.
DENVER — Martin Nečas is Vegas-bound — and the sound of “cha-ching” is following close behind.
No, Golden Knights fans — sorry to disappoint, but Nečas isn’t joining your team. The Colorado Avalanche are in town to face Vegas on Thursday night, and Nečas arrives with some major news of his own. Just before practice at Family Sports Center, the Czech forward signed an eight-year, $92 million extension to stay with the burgundy and blue — a clear sign that Colorado’s core is built to last.
The deal, which includes a full NMC for the first seven years of the contract, also carries $60 million in signing bonuses for the 26-year-old.
Nečas is off to the best start of his career, racking up seven goals and six assists for 13 points through his first 11 games. The 25-year-old currently sits among the Avalanche leaders in nearly every major category — second in goals, third in points, fifth in assists, tied for third in power-play points (4), and tied for third in multi-point games (3). It’s a blistering opening stretch that underscores just how seamlessly he’s fit into Colorado’s high-powered lineup.
Necas Off to Career-Best Start
One key to Nečas scorching start? Freedom. Avalanche coaches have essentially handed him the green light to fully unleash his skill set. Earlier this month, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters that the staff encouraged Nečas to shoot the puck more and play with greater physicality. The message clearly resonated. Since then, Nečas has taken his game to another level — and his chemistry with Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen has never looked sharper.
In fact, Nečas recently acknowledged that Nathan MacKinnon has been one of his biggest hockey inspirations. Even before the trade that sent Mikko Rantanen out of Colorado, Nečas admitted he modeled his game after MacKinnon. For many insiders, those comments made it clear that a return to Colorado was all but inevitable; the only remaining question was the contract’s average annual value. Ultimately, both sides settled on an $11.5 million AAV. We at The Hockey News asked Nečas whether the opportunity to play alongside one of his hockey idols influenced his decision to remain with the Avalanche.
“You know, it’s no secret (that I’ve looked up to him.),” Necas said. “When I was in Carolina, I looked up to the best players in the league — he’s one of them — so I was trying to modify my game to play a little bit like him and at a high pace. Now we’re playing together, so it’s fun.”
Few athletes ever get the chance to share a locker room with someone they once idolized, let alone modeled their game after. Yet Martin Nečas now finds himself not only playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon but potentially chasing a Stanley Cup with him at some point during his new eight-year deal. Through 11 games, Nečas has tallied 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) and is on pace for a career-high 97 points — the best stretch of his young career. He credits much of that success to the trust that runs through the Avalanche lineup, the same kind of brotherhood that served as a cornerstone of Colorado’s 2022 championship team, something, Nečas implied, didn’t exist in Carolina.
“It’s nice to see that trust from them and trust in me, and that’s something new."
A Win-Win for Both Sides
Although it was difficult for Avalanche fans to witness their team eliminated in the First Round of last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs by the Dallas Stars — and largely at the hands of Mikko Rantanen — Colorado has moved forward, and so have its fans. It bears revisiting the facts, even if they have been recounted before. Rantanen sought a $14 million annual salary and refused to compromise, an impasse that led to his trade to the Carolina Hurricanes, a team likewise unwilling to meet his demands. In a twist of fate, Rantanen ultimately signed with the very team that had ousted Colorado the previous spring, for nearly the same figure the Avalanche had originally offered. Meanwhile, Colorado retained Martin Nečas, a player who arguably possesses a higher ceiling than Rantanen and, critically, carries far less baggage. That outcome represents a win-win for the Avalanche — and if it ultimately culminates in a fourth Stanley Cup championship for the franchise, all the better.
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