{"id":468939,"date":"2026-02-24T01:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/468939\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T01:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:47:23","slug":"avalanche-hope-to-be-beneficiaries-of-electric-olympics-from-martin-necas-evans-take-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/468939\/","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche hope to be beneficiaries of electric Olympics from Martin Necas | Evan’s take"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cale Makar has shown he can handle the bright lights when under pressure. So has Nathan MacKinnon. With Martin Necas, there\u2019s a bit more uncertainty.<\/p>\n

But if the Avalanche get the Necas this April that Czechia just got at the Olympics, their odds of taking home another Stanley Cup increase dramatically.<\/p>\n

In five games, Necas led Czechia with eight points, three more than the next closest player on the team. And in all five of those games, he was easily their best and most dangerous player, so much so that the coach moved him off a line with Bruins star David Pastrnak because he knew that Necas could drive the bus on his own line, which he did.<\/p>\n

\"\"Czechia\u2019s Martin Necas, left, challenges France\u2019s Enzo Cantagallo during a preliminary round match of men\u2019s ice hockey between France and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Petr David Josek)<\/p>\n

Necas was electric, creating chances out of nothing on a lesser team in a best-on-best tournament. For someone who has shown improvement the past two seasons when the NHL playoffs have rolled around, but still hasn\u2019t produced at quite the level you\u2019d hope, this tournament could be the catalyst that helps him hit that next level when spring with the Avalanche rolls around.<\/p>\n

Not that he needs the confidence boost.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it can help. I don\u2019t know that Marty lacks a lot of confidence if you watch him play on a nightly basis,\u201d Avalanche coach Jared Bednar joked. \u201cCertainly going on a world stage and playing against the world\u2019s best in a tournament like that, being able to continue what he\u2019s been doing for us here, should help his confidence, no question.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Necas\u2019 first four postseason runs with the Carolina Hurricanes, he posted just 21 points in 48 games. Over the last two playoffs, one of which was in Carolina and his first in Colorado, there\u2019s been a marked improvement with 14 points in 18 games. Bednar has stated multiple times that he liked Necas\u2019 game in the series against Dallas last spring.<\/p>\n

\"\"Canada\u2019s Nathan MacKinnon (29) collides with Czechia\u2019s Martin Necas (98) during the first period of a men\u2019s ice hockey quarterfinal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster)<\/p>\n

Some of that improvement comes from growth as a player, as Necas is a much better player now than he was at 22 or 23 years old. Some of that improvement also comes from experience. It\u2019s not playoff experience, but the Olympics is a big-game experience with a wider audience watching. And it\u2019s one he\u2019ll never forget.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unreal,\u201d Necas said. \u201cSomething that I always, and all of us that were there, always dreamt of. It was great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although there was no fighting allowed, it was skilled, intense, and physical hockey. While it\u2019s not a one-for-one comparison to what the NHL playoffs are like, it\u2019s probably the closest you can get to that environment without it actually being the playoffs. As good as some teams in the league are, none of them will hold a candle to the group Canada iced at the Olympics, a team Necas had to face twice in a week.<\/p>\n

Can this experience help Necas when April 18 with the Avalanche rolls around?<\/p>\n

\"\"Canada\u2019s goalkeeper Jordan Binnington, center, makes a save in front of Czechia\u2019s Martin Necas during a men\u2019s ice hockey quarterfinal game between Canada and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hassan Ammar)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s good,\u201d he said. \u201cI was so excited. I feel like every time I\u2019m so excited about the games, then I play good and show my best. I feel like that was the case there.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for that confidence Bednar was talking about, well, it was definitely on display.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind, I had no doubt that I\u2019ll be good,\u201d Necas said of the Olympics.<\/p>\n

As long as that confidence carries over when the playoffs begin, the Avalanche will be in fine shape.<\/p>\n


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