Martin Necas heard the jibber jabber this summer. Of course he did. Rumor mongering does, indeed, travel to the Czech Republic. 

Unfortunately, all that noise comes with the territory of being an NHL player. 

“Obviously I’ve seen it, and it doesn’t really surprise me,” Necas told The Denver Gazette ahead of Tuesday’s season-opening game at the Los Angeles Kings (8:30 p.m., ESPN). “There’s so much stuff I see out there that’s not true.” 

It was only one report, one that stated Necas wasn’t thrilled during his time in Colorado. Rather than give the rumor any more attention, Necas ignored it and it eventually went away. 

Still, it’s not fun for anyone to hear these things about themselves. 

“What else can I do about it? Nothing really, right?” he said. “It sucks to hear these things, but you know inside of you what’s the truth and you don’t have to prove it to anyone.” 

What Necas is trying to prove is that last season was no fluke. His 83 points in 79 games were a career high. Heading into a contract year, there’s a rather large contract on the line for him. 

The 26-year-old Czech has been asked a few times about the contract situation and has brushed it off. He says his agent and the Avalanche are talking and he’ll leave it up to them. Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland reiterated Monday, the eve of the NHL season, they’d like to sign an extension with Necas. Outside noise like this can sometimes get to a player, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering Necas all that much. 

“He’s a confident guy,” said Jack Drury, who arrived in Colorado with Necas after the big Mikko Rantanen trade last season. “I think he does a great job of ignoring the noise, and that’s kind of what comes with being a pro. He seems locked in, ready to go. We’re going to need him.” 

That might be an understatement. 

The expectations haven’t changed for the Avalanche. It’s once again Stanley Cup or bust. To reach their lofty goal, they’ll need Necas to repeat what he did last season — or better yet, continue improving. 

Although Necas is entering his seventh full season in the NHL, he sees room for growth. The jump he took last season has him feeling pretty good heading into his first full year in Colorado. 

“The season before last (53 points in 77 games) was a step back,” Necas said. “(Last season), I got a good opportunity (in Carolina), finally got to play first power play for the full season and really got to feel the confidence growing in my game. It was just a mindset. Same thing with this year. I just want to get better than last season, which I still feel at this age I can.” 

While playing for the Hurricanes, Necas observed players around the league, seeing which ones he could learn from and adapt his style to match. One player, in particular, stood out: Nathan MacKinnon. 

“I was watching his game a lot, playing a little bit similar when I was in Carolina,” Necas said. 

In the blink of an eye on a Friday evening in January, they unexpectedly became teammates, and when Necas hit the ice wearing an Avalanche jersey for the first time, line mates. Heading the other way, of course, was MacKinnon’s good friend and longtime running mate, Rantanen. 

Rather than sulk because his close friend was dealt seemingly out of nowhere, MacKinnon did what any good leader would do. He took Necas under his wing to make him feel comfortable. There was constant communication on the bench during Necas’ first road trip with the team, and when the team returned to Colorado and actually got some practice time in, MacKinnon would take Necas aside and work one-on-one with him to make sure they were on the same page.

MacKinnon welcoming Necas meant a lot to the winger, but it didn’t surprise their head coach.

“You’d expect that from anyone, wouldn’t you?” Jared Bednar said. “We’re here trying to win and be the best team we can be. That’s a cultural thing. It’s certainly strong character and strong leadership from all the individuals in our room, but that’s what I expect.” 

On the ice, there were kinks to iron out. While Necas is a supremely talented player like Rantanen, they’re not all similar with how they play. For one, Necas is a right-shot while Rantanen is a lefty. Due to that, Necas noted he’d often find himself in the same spot as MacKinnon, a spot he was used to occupying in Carolina.  

And while Rantanen was OK finding soft spots in the defense and playing without the puck, Necas demands it. He wants the puck on his stick, and when he gets it, other teams have a tough time getting it away from him, similar to MacKinnon. 

Despite the subtle differences, the two figured it out pretty quickly. Defenses, not so much. Colorado controlled a ridiculous 66% of the shot attempts with Necas and MacKinnon on the ice together. The two demand the puck on their stick so much that the opposition rarely got it back. 

“It’s tough for a defense not to know who’s going to have the puck and how to defend it,” Necas said. 

Still, as Bednar said, “We’re not playing keep away.” 

Necas wants to hold onto the puck, and his natural instinct when he’s doing that is to look for the pass rather than shoot. It’s a safe bet every man who’s coached Necas has wanted him to shoot the puck more.

Bednar is no different. 

“(He’s) got to make himself more of a shooter and have a shot mentality,” Bednar said. “Last year, for me, he passed it off too much. I see Marty as a dynamic goal scorer more than playmaker, so I want him to use it. He’s got a great shot and he gets into the right areas. I think he’s got to shoot to score and become a goal scorer for us.” 

Necas agrees. He told The Denver Gazette he’s adopted a shooting mentality heading into the season. It can be difficult to flip that switch overnight, so it’s something Colorado’s new assistant coach Dave Hakstol will work to keep on the forefront of Necas’ mind. 

“I don’t necessarily think you’re changing DNA. I think you’re adding growth into a player’s game,” Hakstol said. “Marty’s driven to be successful. You’re not asking him to delete something that he’s really good at. There’s areas to continue to grow in, and as I watch Marty, he’s just a special player on the ice with the pace and speed that he can do things and he thinks it well. Those type of traits will be welcome additions.” 

Shooting isn’t the only thing the Avalanche want him to focus on. When he doesn’t have the puck, they want him to get his nose dirty. 

“I don’t want him wandering away from the net to try to get the puck from somebody,” Bednar said. “We deliver it to the net at a pretty good clip and we need him to be crashing the net and coming up with loose pucks, rebounds, screens, tips, all that. He’s got to get better in the dirty areas of the ice offensively.” 

That’s something new for Necas, who has typically been the primary puck carrier on his line. Things are just a little different on a line with No. 29. 

When you play with the likes of MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews, you can anticipate the puck being sent towards the net frequently. Whether it’s Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen or Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche don’t want to leave all the net-front responsibilities to the other member of that line. It’s another area where Necas can improve. 

“I wasn’t really used to playing (net front) much,” he said. “(I want to) score more of those greasy goals. They count the same.” 

Equipped with areas of focus, a ton of confidence, and plenty of motivation, Necas is ready for another big year. The Avalanche will need it.

He reached new heights in 2024-25. The expectation is that those heights will be the norm moving forward, especially if there’s a big-ticket contract in his future.

“He has that level of play (in him) all the time,” Drury said. “Getting to play with Nate helps, but he can do that all the time. That’s just how good he is and how talented he is and the work he puts in. It’s not a fluke or anything, it’s just how good of a player he is.”