The Colorado Avalanche just found their long-term successor to Mikko Rantanen with Martin Necas coming aboard. The deal is good for $92 million, across eight years and an $11.5 million cap hit, per Elliotte Friedman. Seven years of the deal include a full no-movement clause, so fans can plan on seeing Necas in town for a while.
This is great news if you've been following the Avs, as they needed one more long-term extension guaranteed to line up alongside the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, two of arguably the best players at their respective positions in the game today.
It also means that the Avalanche aren't going anywhere, so if you're a Western Conference opponent, they're about to give your team some serious headaches. This is especially true if you're in the Central Division, where the rich just keep getting richer in what has become one of the most competitive group of eight teams in hockey.
Martin Necas has been a revelation so far for the Colorado Avalanche
It was only a matter of time before the Avalanche got a deal done with Necas, who arrived as part of the Mikko Rantanen trade. Through 30 games last season, Necas put up 11 goals and 17 assists, good for 28 points.
Through the first leg of the 2025-26 season, Necas turned up his game a notch. with 13 points and seven goals through the first 11 games. Necas is shooting at a ridiculous 31.8 percent, and he's logged 21:15 of average total ice time.
He's third on the team in points, behind only MacKinnon and Makar, who have 17 and 15, respectively. Necas has forged a dynamic duo with MacKinnon on the first line so far in 2025-26, and they're now among the most dangerous duos in hockey. But it's not just the trio of Necas, MacKinnon, and Makar that opponents need to worry about.
The Avalanche will be a deep team for a long time
One look at the Colorado Avalanche alone tells you they're a deep team. With Martin Necas signed through 2034, they now have MacKinnon (signed through 2031), Brock Nelson (2028), Gabriel Landeskog (2029), Valeri Nichushkin (2030), Logan O'Connor (2031), Parker Kelly (2030), Devon Toews (2031), and MacKenzie Blackwood (2030).
You know the Avs are gearing up for a long-term extension with Makar next, and he will be eligible in 2026-27. Once they sign Makar to a similar contract length in what will certainly be an eight-figure annual cap hit, this is going to be one deep, scary hockey team for ages.
Maybe Mikko Rantanen, whose cap hit sits at $12 million, would have been fun to watch if the Avs found a way to keep him around. But to the fanbase, it shouldn't matter. Martin Necas will be fun to watch for a long time.