The Colorado Avalanche may have to thank a division rival for indirectly helping them lock up Martin Necas this week.
The Avalanche ended speculation regarding Necas after the club signed him to an eight-year, $92 million extension on Thursday. But according to one notable insider, that deal was spurred by the contract extension of Logan Cooley in Utah.
Cooley signed an eight-year $10 million extension with the Mammoth the day before. That situation pushed the Avalanche to up their offer, leading Necas to sign on the dotted line.
Insider Pierre LeBrun offered some interesting insights into the matter:
“Here’s what happened. The Avalanche were at $10.5 million, which wasn’t enough, obviously, for Martin Necas and his agent, Michael Deutsch. But then Logan Cooley signed on Wednesday. Not apples-to-apples with a guy coming out of entry-level, but it had an impact on this negotiation. Not long after that Cooley deal got announced, the Avalanche moved from ten and a half million to eleven and a half million, and Martin Necas said yes.”
As LeBrun stated in the October 30 edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Logan Cooley’s $10 million AAV is what spurred the Avalanche to up the ante. The rationale on both sides was that, if Cooley, a younger and less established player than Necas, got that much, Necas was worth more.
Of course, Necas could have twisted the Avalanche’s arm to get more. But perhaps Necas was content in knowing he was going to get paid handsomely, and it was going to be with a Stanley Cup contender.
Makar’s next contract also played a key role in Avalanche paying Necas
LeBrun also noted that Cale Makar’s next contract played a huge role in pushing the Avalanche to sign Necas. As Elliotte Friedman noted a few weeks ago, Makar is the next “nuclear explosion.”
What that means is that Makar’s next deal will likely be the next massive contract to get done. The Avalanche know they can’t fool around with this one. Likely, some ideas have been exchanged between the Avalanche and Makar’s camp, though they can’t officially get anything done until July 1, 2026.
While there is no solid evidence to suggest talks have even taken place between the Avs and Makar’s people, it’s a good guess that the Avalanche want to know where they stand with Makar.
Assuming that Makar could top $16 million AAV, Colorado needs cost certainty moving forward. That’s why getting Necas signed was crucial. PuckPedia shows that the Avalanche will have over $48 million in cap space for the 2027-28 season, the first year of Makar’s new contract. That looks good, especially in light of the cap ceiling going up to $113.5 million that season.
Avalanche fans shouldn’t expect to hear much news about Makar inking an extension any time soon. Those rumors should pick up once the season is over. But you have to think the Avalanche will want to get ahead of this situation by extending Makar as soon as it is possible.