The Colorado Avalanche are heading into the season with one of their top wingers entering the final season of his contract, and he’s due for a big payday.

Ever heard that one before, Avs fans? It’s the exact same situation the team was in with Mikko Rantanen last year. This time around, it’s with Martin Necas, the main guy who they got in return for Rantanen last January in one of the most shocking NHL trades of the century.

Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland failed to get a contract extension done with the Moose, and then traded him six weeks before the trade deadline because that’s what he thought was best. Has he learned anything from how that saga went down?

MacFarland didn’t exactly get into the details and danced around the fine details of the organization’s talks with Necas’ camp.

“I’ve chatted with the agent,” MacFarland said after Avs practice Monday. “We’re not going to get into the day to day, week to week, type of stuff. We’d like to get something done. I think that’s kind of the update. Any free agent to be, there’s a number of them still out there, and when you find the connection, you find the connection, and it gets announced. Sometimes early, sometimes mid year, sometimes late. That’s the challenging part of the business, but we’re super excited to have Marty and think he has a fantastic role and he’s an important player for us.”

Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland on contract talks with Martin Necas:

“We’d like to get something done… We are super excited to have Marty, and think he has a fantastic role and he’s an important player for us.” pic.twitter.com/PVT8nr3Ru9

— Denver Sports 104.3 (@DenSports1043) October 6, 2025

Recent reports indicated that the two sides were not far along in contract talks shortly after Necas himself said he didn’t know what stage the talks were in. He’s currently making $6.5 million per year, but the rumored number for his extension has climbed into the neighborhood of $10 million annually.

Will the recent contract extension of Connor McDavid change anything? The all-world superstar just signed a two-year, $25 million contract extension to stay in Edmonton for the near future, a payout that shocked the NHL world. MacFarland said that external extensions like McDavid’s do play somewhat of a role, but he is also just focused on what’s going on in-house.

The Avalanche start their season on Tuesday night on the road against the Los Angeles Kings. There is no word of a standoff between Necas and the Avalanche, and Avalanche fans shouldn’t be concerned about his presence unless he’s not in the lineup in LA.