Let’s get one thing straight. Martin Necas was never unhappy in Denver.

“There’s so much stuff I see out there that’s not true,” Necas told The Gazette earlier this month in regards to the rumors about him last summer.

That being said, everyone wants to feel the love every once in a while — Necas included. NHL players are no different from you or I when it comes to that.

The Avalanche on Thursday showed the 26-year-old Necas a lot of love.

“It’s nice to see the trust from them and trust in me,” Necas said after signing an enormous eight-year, $92 million extension.

“That’s something new.”

That quote might ruffle some feathers in Carolina, where Necas played for nearly eight years. It’s not wrong, though.

The Hurricanes never showed that level of commitment to the 26-year-old forward, opting to give him shorter-term deals as opposed to anything with real term on it. That lack of trust was evident on the ice, as the supremely talented forward struggled to get consistent time on the top power play unit with the Hurricanes, despite being arguably their most skilled forward.

There is no lack of faith in Necas in Colorado, where he will likely be stapled to an elite center for most of the next decade. The Avalanche believe in him, and they believe they’ll be repaid by the forward holding up his end of the bargain in the long run.

“Yeah, lots (of trust),” Jared Bednar said after practice Thursday. “Age, the trajectory of his career to this point. Played under a really detailed defensive coach in (Brind’Amour), did a nice job. … We all know he’s a dynamic offensive player. … I’ve liked his commitment on the other side of it most nights, and he’s learning how important it is to be a really good checker in the game, especially if he’s going to play up in the lineup like he does with us.”

While the Avalanche trust Necas, they didn’t have a choice except to get a deal done. Years of “going for it” have depleted this team of trade assets, and they aren’t going to be drafting high any time soon to get a shot at bringing in an elite prospect. Plus, after trading away Mikko Rantanen, there was no world in which they could let Necas either walk to free agency or force them into a similar trade to the Rantanen deal they made in January.

Although the salary cap is going up, elite players rarely hit free agency. Instead, they choose to re-sign with the teams they’re already playing with because they’re comfortable. We saw it last summer with the likes of Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov and Kyle Connor extending with their current teams as opposed to testing the free agent market.

Now we saw it again with Necas. You have to keep your talent, because it’s difficult to find it through other avenues.

“The pool is going to look very different next July 1 than what it looked like July 2 (this year) when you look ahead 11 months,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said. “Being able to get this done takes a big puzzle piece and puts it on the board. … It felt very good (to get it done).”

Regular-season production will be no issue for Necas. For this contract to really pay off for the Avalanche, Necas must find another gear in the playoffs, something he hasn’t done to date. In 66 career playoff games, he has just 12 goals and 35 points.

That won’t cut it at the salary he’s set to make. Fair or not, the guy he’ll always be compared to — Rantanen — is one of the more productive point scorers in NHL postseason history.

“He hadn’t had the same playoff success as he had in regular season success, and we all know that’s a different animal,” Bednar said. “There’s a certain firmness in his game that needs to be there. We talk a lot, and you’ve heard me say it, about getting to the inside of the ice and making sure he’s in that presence on that line when it calls for it. I liked his (Dallas) series, though.”

What I’m hearing

• Mackenzie Blackwood is back and should get a start in one of the Avalanche’s back-to-back games this weekend, although Bednar didn’t confirm as much Thursday. Blackwood spoke Thursday about what kept him out for so long. “Old thing. Just (over) time, got worse and worse and just decided to take care of it and get it out of the way. And now I feel great,” Blackwood said.
• Bednar said the Avalanche are hopeful both Sam Girard and Logan O’Connor will be ready to play when they travel to Edmonton and Vancouver for games on Nov. 8 and 9. They’re getting close to returning and will travel with the team this weekend but will not play.

What I’m seeing

• The Avalanche love Jack Ahcan’s game and used him in both games against the Devils because they found him to be a better fit against a smaller, quicker team. Ilya Solovyov will be back in the lineup against Vegas on Friday, however.
• Utah appears to be a real problem in the Central Division. The St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild do not. It’s still early but what an ugly start for those two teams. The Blues roster, despite its hot run late last season, is still average at best.

What I’m thinking

• July 1 is still a big day on the NHL calendar, but free agency just isn’t that fun anymore when the top player available next summer might be a guy like Nick Schmaltz. Good for the teams keeping their talent, but it’s a lot less fun for the fans.
• It would be a major surprise if Cale Makar’s massive extension isn’t completed before Sept. 15 next year. That’s the last day NHL teams can give players eight-year contracts under the current CBA. It’s clear the Avalanche are already planning ahead for Makar’s huge deal, and it should get done relatively quickly.