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Even if a team knows it’s headed for an unwanted divorce from a star player who’s been in the organization for a decade, it typically exhausts every possibility before conceding defeat. For the Avalanche to give up on re-signing Rantanen in January must indicate that the two sides were very far apart in negotiations.
The optics are brutal. Rantanen is arguably the best winger in the NHL. He was one of the most important players on the 2022 Cup-winning team Had the two sides come to a deal, he would have probably spent another decade as an Av before having his jersey sent to the rafters.
Instead, it’s a new era in Colorado.
Martin Necas, 26, is not Mikko Rantanen. Avalanche fans should not bother to compare the two and instead appreciate Necas in his own right. The Czech winger is very smooth. He has high-end speed and you won’t find many players who can carry the puck through open ice like he can. He has a good shot and averaged 25 goals the previous two seasons, with 16 in 49 games in 2024-25.
He may not have shown his best yet, either. Carolina’s depth meant that Necas found it hard to find more than 17-18 minutes consistently. The Avalanche won’t hesitate to give him his desired promotion. He’s a top-six forward on their depth chart and head coach Jared Bednar may even opt to play him at center, where Necas has experience. The Avs will have him on a $6.5 million cap hit through 2026. If they can figure out a long-term extension, he could be a first-line winger in Colorado for the long haul.
Jack Drury, 24, had a tough time finding his fit in a crowded Hurricanes depth chart. In the opportunities he did have, Drury proved he belonged in the NHL. He has 46 points in 153 NHL games. More importantly, as a depth center, he’s held up very well defensively. Colorado’s center depth behind MacKinnon has taken a beating in the last few seasons. Drury should fight for third-line minutes this season and is a very safe bet to have a long NHL career as a bottom-six center.
The Avalanche also receive a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick from Carolina.
Teams trading players like Rantanen never win the deal. Quality for quantity usually falls the way of the team adding the best player involved. And no doubt the team’s PR has a lot of work ahead to deal with the optics of moving on from someone headed towards club legend status.
But rentals — even elite player rentals — rarely return this type of NHL-ready talent. Look back at deadline trades involving phenoms such as Marian Hossa, Peter Forsberg, or Rick Nash and it’s mostly depth NHLers, prospects, and draft picks.
The Avalanche are a worse hockey team because of this deal but they got younger, deeper, and have more long-term flexibility. Rantanen is a monumental loss but MacKinnon and Makar alone can be the spine of a perennial contender. Now with approximately an extra $6 million in cap space after this season to play with, one has to wonder if Colorado is preparing to make another big addition.