When the Colorado Avalanche traded away Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury, fans were beside themselves. Now that the dust settled a long time ago, we’ve gotten to track the performances of each player involved, especially that of Necas.
Necas has 95 points in 74 games this season, just five points away from his very first 100-point season. He has worked his tail off with Nathan MacKinnon centering his line. The duo has been magnificent to watch.
Overall, he has 37 goals and 58 assists this year, and has obliterated his career-high in plus-minus at +44. Additionally, he has 14 power play goals with the Avalanche, including nine this year. That comes in at third-best on the team this year behind Brock Nelson and MacKinnon.
Head coach Jared Bednar said that he would love for Necas to reach 100 points on the season, but made it known that it’s not his priority, while it might be Necas’. That makes perfect sense, as the main focus for a head coach is to get his team ready to win, not for individual accolades.
For the week of March 20-26, Necas was named Player of the Week by the NHLPA after recording eight points, which included a four-game multi-point streak.
It really does feel like the sky is the limit for Necas. It’s like him paired up with MacKinnon is a match made in heaven and that’s exactly what the Avalanche wanted. It may not be true that just any player would do well playing alongside MacKinnon, but it sure has worked out for Marty Party.
Now, the question becomes whether or not Necas can average a point per game over the final stretch of the season to secure his first 100-point season since entering the league as a first-round draft pick in 2017. I believe he’ll do it, and the Avalanche will continue to win.
One of the bigger knocks on Necas is the lack of points he’s recorded in the postseason. In 66 matches, he has just 12 goals and 23 assists, including one goal and four assists in seven postseason games for Colorado last year.
The Avalanche need more out of him when the games mean the very most. Hopefully he’s able to change the narrative.