Martin Necas keeps stacking up the accolades after a breakout season with the Colorado Avalanche.
TSN slotted the 27-year-old forward at No. 31 on its list of the NHL’s top 50 players, putting him one spot ahead of New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. That follows his placement at No. 49 on NHL Network’s top 50 ranking, another sign of how far his stock has climbed.
Necas delivered the best regular season of his NHL career in 2025-26, and he did it in his first full year with Colorado. He set career highs across the board, finishing with 38 goals, 62 assists and 100 points in 78 games. It was his first 100-point season, and he became one of only a handful of players around the league to reach that mark.
He also made his presence felt at even strength, where he finished sixth in the NHL with 76 points. His chemistry with Nathan MacKinnon played a huge role in that offensive surge. Together, the two combined for 227 points in the regular season, helping the Avalanche finish first in the NHL in goals per game at 3.63.
Necas was piling up big nights all year, too. He posted a career-best 31 multi-point games, topping his previous high by eight.
The production carried into the playoffs as well. In 13 postseason games, Necas totaled 13 points, including one goal and 12 assists, as the Avalanche reached the Western Conference Final. His assist on Brett Kulak’s series-clinching overtime goal against the Minnesota Wild stood out as his most memorable playoff moment.
Colorado locked him up in October 2025 with an eight-year extension after acquiring him from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the Mikko Rantanen trade nine months earlier.
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Avalanche Face One Contract Question With Lehkonen Now
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The lingering question is Artturi Lehkonen, who is entering the final year of his five-year deal. His next contract is harder to pin down in a league where salaries keep climbing, and the Avalanche now have to weigh what his value looks like going forward against a cap picture shaped by the deals already in place. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Newhook Just Became An Avalanche Trade Reminder Again
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The new four-year extension, which begins in the 2026-27 season, also shows how the Canadiens see his role growing as the cap picture changes around the league. For Colorado, it is the sort of development that naturally reopens the conversation around a familiar trade, because Newhook is no longer just a former first-round pick finding his way. He is a proven NHL regular on a team that clearly plans to keep him around. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Face One Big Question As Pressure Builds On Aging Core
The Avalanche are heading into a stretch where the conversation is less about what they already accomplished and more about how long this version can keep holding together. Coming off a Presidents Trophy season, Colorado has the kind of core that still gives it a high floor, but there are real questions about whether an aging roster can keep matching the pace that made the team so dangerous in the first place.
There is also a quieter layer to the outlook: the roster stability that helps the Avalanche stay competitive could end up making the next step harder, especially if some of the speed concerns around older players become more noticeable. At the same time, the team does have younger options who could tilt the balance back in its favor, which leaves Colorado with the kind of season-long tension that can swing either way well before 2026-27 is over. [Read more 🡒]