A Rally in Raleigh — Brent Burns, Jack Drury, and Martin Nečas shine in Carolina return

On October 23, 2025, the Carolina Hurricanes, donning their Hartford Whalers gear, came to Denver to face off with the Avalanche who debuted their 30th anniversary Quebec Nordiques uniforms. It was a close match, and the Canes ultimately came out on top via a shootout victory, 5-4. It was the first time that the trio of Brent Burns, Jack Drury, and Martin Nečas found themselves facing off against their former club, and for Drury and Nečas, who had never played for another franchise before their trade to Colorado, it was especially poignant.

Two days ago, the emotions were even higher, the feelings even more intense — the Avs kicked off a three-game road trip against the Southeastern-most teams in the NHL, with game one coming against the Hurricanes. This tilt marked the first time each of those three players took to the ice in the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina since their departures. Once more, the Avs and the Canes honored their respective legacies by opting for the Nordiques and Whalers jerseys; much like the first time this season that the two clubs squared off, the game was full of drama, excitement, and much back-and-forth momentum-shifting. Unlike the first matchup, however, the Avs came out the victor after the NHL's best third-period team potted four goals en route to a 5-3 victory.

Seven players contributed to the five goals scored by the Avs against the Hurricanes. Behind yet another four-point-night from Nathan MacKinnon, Nečas (who recorded two helpers) and Drury (who scored the Avs' third and game-tying goal), led the way. In addition, the ever-reliable Burns logged nearly 20-minutes of ice time at age 40, and he played some critical minutes, alongside Drury, on the penalty kill.

Exactly one year ago, all three players were rostered by the Carolina Hurricanes, and they now play together in the Mile High City. Drury and Nečas came over in the Mikko Rantanen trade, and Burns signed a one-year free-agent deal this past offseason. All of them fill important roles for the Avs, and their presence is felt by both their teammates and — especially for Nečas, who had more hits than anyone else on Saturday night — by the opposition.

Brent Burns

Burns didn't contribute on the scoresheet against the Hurricanes — although that hasn't been an issue for him this year. He has 20 points in 40 games and he's not seeing much time on the power play, so that production is mostly via 5-on-5 situations. Additionally, he's averaging about one minute less a night than his career average, illustrating how durable he is, supported by the fact he currently holds the third-longest ironman streak in NHL history and, far and away, the longest of any active player.

Perhaps betrayed by muscle memory built up across the last few seasons, Burns did have a team-worst four giveaways during the game Saturday night, but he, being the dominant, physically-threatening, deranged-looking powerhouse comprised of old man strength that he is, he routinely made up for these errors by pressuring opponents and playing a defensibly-sensible style of play. In addition, he had a takeaway of his own — one of only five recorded by the entire team.

The 40-year-old forward-turned-defenseman, who is still searching for his first Stanley Cup (shades of Ray Bourque, minus the beard?), spent the prior three seasons in "the City of Oaks" and has decidedly found a new home in Denver. If he can limit the turnovers and continue to feed the pinpoint slap-passes that have helped him record fifteen assists already this year, he'll be a bargain-priced component for an Avs team threatening not only to break the NHL's single-season points record but also to once again claim Lord Stanley's Mug — something he was unable to do as a Carolina Hurricane.

Jack Drury

Drury, who spent the first 153 games of his young NHL career as a Hurricane, has really settled into his bottom-six role with the Avalanche. While it was the opportunity to obtain Martin Nečas who sealed the Mikko Rantanen deal last January, the Avs specifically targeted Drury because of the intangible areas of the ice in which he dominates. Drury wins more faceoffs than any other Av, he kills penalties, and he can chip in offensively, too. He's become a steady presence and a responsible 200-foot player. He's played a little less than half as many games as an Av than he did as a Cane, and he has a little less than half as many points — he's not setting any houses on fire or breaking down the doors of the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he's consistently providing exactly what the Avs' front office wants, which has led to a consistent spot in the team's lineup.

On Saturday night, just 33 seconds after Brock Nelson brought the Avs within one goal with a powerplay tally (after a rather ineffectual first two periods for the boys in burgundy and blue), Drury was the beneficiary of a slick feed from Ross Colton, and Drury potted it into the back of the net with haste. It served as his seventh goal of the season, which puts him just one goal away from tying his career best of eight, which he has done twice (in both 2023-24 with the Canes and 2024-25, which was split between them and the Avs). The strike brought the Avs square with the Canes, and they went on to net an additional pair of goals on their way to a 5-3 win, their 10th in a row.

In addition to the goal, Drury won the most draws of any player for either side who had more than two faceoff opportunities. Resultingly, the Avs were able to establish possession in all areas of the ice: something vital for a momentum-swing like the one the team had in the final period of Saturday's game. Furthermore, while the Canes only had three chances on the man advantage, Drury was instrumental in the Avs killing two of the Canes' powerplays. Drury's penalty-killing prowess is something sorely missed in Carolina; while the Avs are the league's best penalty-killing squad (85.6%), the Canes sit in the bottom-half of the league (79.7%).

Martin Nečas

As a member of the Carolina Hurricanes — a team lacking a bona fide, show-stopping star (despite the talent of both Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov) — Nečas had begun to turn heads as not just one of the best Czech players in the NHL, but also one of its most electrifying young players, full stop. It was precisely this star potential and innate playmaking skill that allowed the Avs some justification to ship Mikko Rantanen as his contract negotiations remained stalled. There was understandable emotion, shock, disappointment, etc. — but Nečas has soothed any sore feelings, especially as Rantanen continues to make himself something of a villain this season while playing for division-rival Dallas.

Now fully settled into his right-side flank next to Nathan MacKinnon, Nečas is having a breakout campaign, and it is fully coinciding with the best start to a season the Avs have ever had — and one of the best season any team has had at this point in the hockey season. He's been a wonderful addition, contributing up and down the ice, and he will represent Team Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

The second Avs goal of Saturday night's game came on the powerplay, less than two minutes into the final frame, and it was a seeing-eye shot. It was a redirected shot, fired off the stick of Nathan MacKinnon from between the circles, just inside the blueline, and it wasn't immediately apparent which player — be they Cane or Av — was responsible for the puck's change of trajectory. After a few, first replay reviews, the goal was initially credited to the Czech winger, and that stood for all of two minutes before Brock Nelson was rightfully given the goal. But, at the time of Drury's goal, the prior goal was still technically Marty's — something that must've been compoundingly heartbreaking for Canes fans.

The Marty Party wasn't fully derailed, however. Nečas assisted on both the Avs' opening goal (scored by captain Gabriel Landeskog) and the coffin-nailing final goal (scored on an empty net by Nathan MacKinnon). It served as Nečas' 15th multi-point game in the Avs' first 40 games of the season, and as of the end of the game against his former team, Nečas officially has 53 points (19 goals and 34 assists) in 40 games, putting him on pace for 107 points by season's end. That would shatter his prior best, which came with the Canes in 2022-23: 71 points in 82 games — showcasing the elite potential Nečas has, much to the chagrin of those in the Carolinas.

Fear not, Hurricanes fans! They may be on a three-game skid in an ultra-competitive Eastern Conference, and their starting goalie may be winless in his last nine games while posting a sub-0.870 save percentage, but two players the Canes received as part of Rantanen both entering and exiting Raleigh contributed on the score sheet Saturday night — Taylor Hall (brought into Carolina from the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the initial three-team Rantanen trade) and Logan Stankoven (sent to Carolina from the Dallas Stars as part of the package that shipped Rantanen to the Stars), both recorded assists. Certainly, everything will work out just fine.

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