If the Colorado Avalanche could rewind the clock, Mikko Rantanen might still be skating into his 11th season in burgundy and blue. Instead, the 2015 first-rounder is long gone — and the sting of losing him hasn’t faded.
Facing the risk of Rantanen walking in free agency last January, Colorado made the agonizing decision to deal their star winger. He was sent to Carolina in a three-team trade that brought back Jack Drury and Martin Necas. The Hurricanes, unable to reach a long-term deal, then flipped him to Dallas — where the Stars wasted no time in inking him to an eight-year, $96 million contract.
The heartbreak only deepened in the playoffs. Rantanen lit up his old club for five goals and seven assists in a brutal first-round clash, capped by a Game 7 hat trick that bounced Colorado from the postseason.
But that painful elimination isn’t what NHL insider Frank Seravalli meant by his “if only they knew” remark.
In June, the NHL and NHLPA rolled out a new CBA that will dramatically raise the salary cap beginning in 2026. The cap is set to climb from $88 million in 2024-25 to $113.5 million by 2027-28 — meaning some teams weren’t as cash-strapped as they believed.
Colorado Forward Martin Necas Enters Final Season Before Free Agency
Now the Avalanche face a familiar dilemma — only this time, it’s Martin Necas in the spotlight. At 26, the talented winger is just a year away from unrestricted free agency, and the comparisons to last year’s Mikko Rantanen situation are impossible to miss. The tension only grows in light of reports that Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov turned down a massive eight-year, $126 million offer.
“I’m really intrigued by the Necas situation in Colorado,” Frank Seravalli said during his Open Ice segment on Bleacher Report. “It feels like déjà vu. Last year, Rantanen could’ve been signed for just under $12 million per season. Now, if Necas tops a point per game again, you’re probably looking at $10 million annually. That puts the Avs right back where they started.”
Necas hasn’t reached Rantanen’s level yet, but he’s closing the gap. Across his split season with Carolina and Colorado, he racked up 83 points in 79 games and showcased the speed, creativity, and line-driving ability the Avs desperately need behind Nathan MacKinnon. At 26, he’s entering his prime — and he’s fully aware of the leverage that gives him.
Back in 2022, Necas signed a two-year bridge deal worth $6 million with the Hurricanes, a contract that expires after this season. Once that happens, he’s set to hit the open market in July 2026. The Avalanche would love to secure his future before then, but the rising salary cap ensures that every day they wait, his value only climbs higher.
Situation With Martin Necas Eerily Similar to Mikko Rantanen in 2024-25
The whole scenario feels almost cruelly poetic. A year ago, Colorado hesitated with Mikko Rantanen, wary of a looming cap squeeze. Now, they’re staring at the same dilemma with a younger forward, only this time they know a cap boom is on the horizon. The irony? The very patience they leaned on before could come back to bite them again if Martin Necas delivers another point-per-game campaign.
Mile High Sticking didn’t mince words: the Avalanche “can’t afford to let history repeat itself.” Losing one star winger in his prime was painful enough. Watching another slip away just as the cap expands would edge dangerously close to front-office malpractice.
Yet the clock keeps ticking. Training camp has arrived, the opener is just weeks out, and there’s still no deal. As Denver Sports pointed out, the situation has already gone national — a sign that both sides may be running out of patience.
If an extension doesn’t materialize, trade whispers become unavoidable. But flipping Necas — the very return for Rantanen — less than a year after acquiring him would be a bitter admission that the cycle hasn’t truly been broken. It would also gut one of the few scoring reinforcements meant to support Nathan MacKinnon in his prime.
GM Chris MacFarland is well aware of both the optics and the stakes. This isn’t a rebuilding team — it’s a contender, powered by MacKinnon and Cale Makar entering their peak years. Trading Necas might preserve value on paper, but it would undercut the roster in the short term.
That leaves Colorado in a familiar bind: balancing the urgency of today with the security of tomorrow. The new CBA offers financial relief, but only if they’re willing to strike decisively. Necas wants top-line money. The Avs have to decide if he truly is that player — and whether they’re ready to commit in a way they weren’t with Rantanen.
For now, Necas remains on the roster, expected to be a key cog in another playoff push. But hovering over every goal and highlight is the same question that defined last season: will the Avalanche lock in their star, or watch him shine in another uniform?
Because if Colorado parts ways with Martin Necas just a year after dealing Mikko Rantanen, the resemblance won’t just be uncanny — it’ll be haunting.