Rumor mill: Martin Necas unhappy with Colorado situation

I say this because before trading Mikko Rantanen for a player, the Avalanche had to make sure the player in question wanted to play in Colorado long-term.

Losing a Rantanen hurts any club… And if the Avalanche have to trade Necas, it’s going to be hard to move things forward.

In all this, it should be noted that Necas is entering the final year of his two-year contract and is eligible for full autonomy in the summer of 2026.

I also wonder if Nathan MacKinnon has a role to play in Necas’ discomfort, because we know he’s really intense with his teammates off the ice…

Time is running out for the Avalanche.

And at this point, it’s time to start making a decision about the man they brought in for Mikko Rantanen.

Mitch Marner would not stay in Toronto

There seemed to be a chance that Mitch Marner would stay in Toronto.

Elliotte Friedman raised the possibility in recent weeks… but we agree that it would be surprising.

And the latest news is that Marner is on his way out because he didn’t like the way he was treated in Toronto this year.

Remember that the Leafs asked him to waive his no-trade clause, precisely in order to acquire Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline…

Word on the street is that Marner didn’t want to be traded at the time because he’d just witnessed the birth of his child.

And it’s true that moving the whole family in the middle of the season with a newborn baby isn’t ideal.

The player’s goal, then, would be to test the free agent market on July 1… which seems to make more sense than staying in Toronto.

And let’s not forget that there’s going to be a lot of interest in his services.

The Kings, the Hawks, the Hurricanes, the Golden Knights… all of these clubs have been linked to the principal interested party of late.

The Hurricanes will be aggressive this summer

In Carolina, they’re aiming for the ultimate goal.

Winning the third round to reach (and win) the Stanley Cup Final.

But clearly, it’s not working with the current group, because the results are the same, year after year. And with over $30 million to spend this summer, Eric Tulsky (GM) will have plenty of room to play, and his plan is pretty simple.

The Hurricanes GM wants to be aggressive in his approach, as reported by David Pagnotta.

Eric Robinson, Brent Burns, Dmitri Orlov, Jack Roslovic and Tyson Jost will be as free as a bird as of July 1, and the Hurricanes will have some decisions to make regarding these five players.

But still: if the majority of these guys stay in Carolina, the Hurricanes will have plenty of room to make a big splash – whether on the trade market or the free agent market.

And we know they’re not afraid to move either.

They acquired Rantanen before sending him back to Dallas in the 24-25 season, and it proves one thing: Eric Tulsky is doing what it takes to improve his team.

On the free agent market, I have a feeling that guys like Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers, Sam Bennett, Jamie Benn and Claude Giroux are going to get a lot of attention in Carolina…

In Overtime

– Sergei Kostitsyn announces his retirement.

– To be continued…

– I’m going with… Corey Perry!

– Too bad.