Martin Necas (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
The chances that Martin Necas plays for the Colorado Avalanche past this season continued to get slimmer this week.
“I’d be stunned if he even finishes the season with the Avalanche, let alone extends in Colorado,” a longtime NHL pro scout opined to RG on Wednesday night.
With Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor, and Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel all inking contract extensions with their respective teams this week, the once-vaunted potential 2026 NHL unrestricted free agent market lost plenty of star power. Necas, along with New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin and Los Angeles Kings winger Adrian Kempe, are now the three biggest fish left on that 2026 UFA Market. Various reports this week had the Kings and Kempe closing in on an extension, but by all accounts, Panarin and Necas remain far apart in contract talks with the Rangers and Avalanche, respectively.
“I don’t see how the Avalanche make it happen with Necas,” the above source said.
“They need to lock up Cale Makar next offseason, and even with the cap going up, where are they finding the money to give Necas? So now the real question to me is, will the Avalanche keep him as their own playoff rental at the trade deadline, or will he go to another team as a rental and sign an extension with them?”
Makar, who already has a Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Norris Trophy on his resume, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027. By that time, the NHL salary cap is projected to be at $113.5 and Makar is expected to sign for upwards of $17 million. Per PuckPedia, the Avalanche, if they didn’t re-up with any of their potential UFAs the next two offseasons, would have $26.8 million in cap space entering free agency on July 1, 2027.
“I’ll tell you one thing: when it comes to trading for him at least as a rental, I’d be watching the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers. …if, as I expect, the Rangers will be back in the playoff hunt,” the source went on.
“I know both teams looked into him when he was in Carolina, but I’m not sure they’ve looked into him again since he was traded to Colorado. Another team that could be in the Wild Card mix is the Anaheim Ducks. They’ve got a ton of cap space ($12.9 million) now, but the problem is [Cutter] Gauthier and [Leo] Carlsson are up after this season too. Still, they have so many prospects they could offer.”
As for teams that could trade for him with an extension in place, I’m looking at teams like the Philadelphia Flyers ($6.6 million in cap space) and the San Jose Sharks ($6.6 million in cap space). I think the Ducks are really intriguing because they may be in the wild card mix at the deadline.”
Necas is currently in the final year of a two-year, $13 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $6.5 million.
As of now, Necas continues to downplay the NHL trade rumors around him, and both he and the team have expressed an interest in finding a way to keep him in Denver.
“Obviously, I’ve seen it, and it doesn’t really surprise me,” Necas told The Denver Gazette before scoring two goals in a 4-1 season-opening win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
“There’s so much stuff I see out there that’s not true. What else can I do about it? Nothing really, right? It sucks to hear these things, but you know inside of you what the truth is, and you don’t have to prove it to anyone.”
While Necas’ frustration is understandable, the truth is, though, regardless of both the Avalanche and Necas claiming they want to explore how to make an extension work, that may not be possible.