The 2026 Olympics feature men’s hockey this year and each team has a variety of skill from around the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche sent eight players to Italy for the tournament, including three on Team Canada, one for Team USA, one for Team Sweden, two for Team Finland, and one for Team Czechia.
One of the matchups we will get to see is Canada against Czechia. In that particular head-to-head, we will see Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews square off against their Avalanche teammate Martin Necas. Canada is obviously top-heavy with Avalanche players, which makes a bunch of Avs Faithful put their eyes on that team. Necas spoke about that matchup and going up against his NHL teammates…
"Obviously, it’s much easier to be playing with them than against them.Martin Necas on Avalanche teammates
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Every player taking part in the Olympics wants to put up their best performances for their country and that’s exactly what we are going to get. I have a feeling that we will see some tight games. During the 2025 4 Nations tournament, only one game was a complete blowout: USA defeating Finland 6-1. The other games were either games were either won by one or two goals.
The Olympics should have quite a lot more viewers given that there is a variety of sports taking place. The 4 Nations matchup between Canada and the USA generated 16.1 million viewers.
Necas is having a tremendous year, recording 22 goals and 40 assists in 52 games. He has fit in nicely with Nathan MacKinnon on the top line, though has recently been injured. It’s great to see that he is good to go for the Olympics, just like his Avalanche teammate Gabriel Landeskog, who suffered an upper-body injury when he crashed into a net on January 4 agaainst the Florida Panthers.
Facing off against each other will be a lot of fun for any NHL teammates. As for the Avs, their competitive fire will burn on Italy ice as well as North American ice once the NHL season resumes. They are the best team in the league record and points-wise and although the team has struggled in different stretches, this international break can help reset the team and allow them to get their feet underneath their bodies.
It’s by no means any time to panic, but other teams (talking to you, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars) are creeping up behind them in the standings. The team that wins the Presidents’ trophy doesn’t often win a Stanley Cup that year. Maybe it’s best if one of those creeping teams surpasses Colorado. However, I think that the Avs welcome either challenge.
They’ll be ready for whatever comes their way, but for now, it’s time for teammates to put their friendships aside and square off against each other for an opportunity that does not come very often—representing their country.