There is little doubt about one thing, though. The Avs feel pretty good about where things stand on Jan. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been great. I can\u2019t complain,\u201d Avs coach Jared Bednar said. \u201cI love Mikko as a player and as a person. I was sad to see him go. But our team would look completely different than it does now, whether that\u2019s Jack, Marty, the ability to sign Brock Nelson, all those things come into it in the offseason. I\u2019m kind of under the mindset that I coach the players that I have, and I love our team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like all three of those guys. Everyone else is playing really well. Just trying to get us to play the best we can possibly play on a nightly basis, and hopefully that leads to some success.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision to trade Rantanen, who was a pending unrestricted free agent, launched a debate that remains unsettled. It could go down as one of the great what-ifs in Avalanche history.<\/p>\n
![\"Head](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/TDP-L-SPHKNAVS-0505-07.jpg\")
Head coach Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche shakes hands with Mikko Rantanen #96 of the Dallas Stars after the Stars 4-2 win in Game 7 of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center on May 03, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The first chapter of the trade was a success \u2026 until it wasn\u2019t. Colorado\u2019s reshaped roster looked capable of winning the Stanley Cup in April. It looked even better when the Avs led the Stars, 2-0, early in the third period of Game 7.<\/p>\n
Chapter two is also off to a rousing start. Necas and Drury have fit seamlessly with the Avs. It would have been tough for the Avs to add Nelson at the deadline with Rantanen still here, and impossible to retain him on a three-year contract without drastic alterations to the current group.<\/p>\n
The Avs are the best team in the NHL. They were one of the most dominant in NHL history through the first half of the season, though injuries have led to the first bit of adversity lately.<\/p>\n
If Colorado wins the Stanley Cup this season, much of the debate about the Rantanen trade will fade away. If this team, this juggernaut, somehow loses to the Stars\u00a0again in the playoffs, the discourse will likely spread like wildfire all summer long.<\/p>\n
For now, there is little debate. The Avs didn\u2019t\u00a0need Necas to be a like-for-like replacement for Rantanen. The objective was to add a player who could replace most of what Rantanen brought, but also to add depth and flexibility.<\/p>\n
Necas has 33 goals and 90 points in 79 regular-season games since the trade. Rantanen has 26 goals and 87 points in 82 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, it was shocking,\u201d Necas said. \u201cBut coming here, everything here is so professional. I know I can get better in this place. Everything here is just made for you to be yourself, just do your thing on the ice and everything else is taken care of. I feel like every day here we are getting better, which is great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Necas\u2019 tenure with the Hurricanes was unsettled at times. His fondness and respect for coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour did not waver, but the team\u2019s style of play on the ice was a point of contention.<\/p>\n
He has flourished next to Nathan MacKinnon on Colorado\u2019s top line. MacKinnon leads the NHL in both goals (51) and points (128) since the trade. What Necas and the Avs can do together in the postseason will ultimately define the trade, and the decision to sign Necas to an eight-year, $92 million contract that begins next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s handled it incredibly,\u201d Drury said of the pressure on Necas to replace Rantanen. \u201cI think he handles pressure incredibly well. It doesn\u2019t get to him. He\u2019s confident, but in a good way \u2014 not an egotistical way. He believes in himself, and I think he\u2019s showing everyone how good he is. It\u2019s great for the organization to get the deal done with him. I think he\u2019s just at the start of what he can do. He can be on the top players in the league like he\u2019s shown and he\u2019s just going to keep getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rantanen spent six weeks with Carolina before a trade to Dallas for Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks. Like the Hurricanes, the Avs pivoted.<\/p>\n
Colorado used the added draft capital to help land Charlie Coyle before the trade deadline in March, then having Necas for one more season at $6.5 million instead of what they\u2019d be paying Rantanen in year one to help retain Nelson and sign Brent Burns.<\/p>\n
Carolina used a first-round pick in a trade for K\u2019Andre Miller and signed free agent Nikolaj Ehlers. The Hurricanes lead the Metropolitan Division and are second in the Eastern Conference. Like the Avs, the train kept rolling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough to see those guys leave, but exciting to see (Rantanen) come in,\u201d said Burns, who played for the Hurricanes last season and saw the seismic trade play out from the other side. \u201cIt didn\u2019t really work out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the way they play and how Rod gets them going and the guys they have there, it\u2019s never really about individual people. It\u2019s just a collective thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Stars have spent most of the season with the second-best record in the NHL. They woke up Saturday with 67 points, same as the Hurricanes. The Avs are 10 points in front of both.<\/p>\n
All three teams believe they can win the Stanley Cup in 2026. It\u2019s entirely possible that another round of Avs-Stars looms in the spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s in the past,\u201d Necas said. \u201cObviously, Carolina didn\u2019t get him (to stay). Dallas got him. (Carolina) got a good player too. I feel like that doesn\u2019t really matter. There\u2019s nothing between us in terms of a rivalry. Obviously, I want to be better than him and he wants to be better than me, but there\u2019s nothing against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are still more twists and turns to come in the long tail of the trade. Drury is a pending unrestricted free agent. Necas will need to have a great postseason or three during this contract, given Rantanen\u2019s track record as a playoff killer.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes must prove they didn\u2019t need Rantanen, after all, and Stankoven needs to level up to justify his eight-year, $48 million contract that begins next season. The Stars are certainly happy to have Rantanen locked in at $12 million per year, but Jason Robertson\u2019s future with the franchise remains uncertain.<\/p>\n
One year down, many to go as we continue to unpack one of the biggest trades in Avalanche history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels, I would say longer, because now I feel like I forget about my time in Carolina,\u201d Necas said. \u201cLast season, it was still kind of in my head. This year is a different story. It feels great, feels like home. I\u2019m super excited it\u2019s going to be for way longer.\u201d<\/p>\n