Friday Four: Will Necas price himself out of Colorado?

The Friday Four is a collection of thoughts and information on some intriguing storylines from around the NHL. On deck this week is:

• What should the Avalanche do with Marin Necas?

• Patrik Laine starts on fourth line

• What is Pavel Dorofeyev’s ceiling?

• Arturs Silovs makes an early statement in Pens crease

Martin Necas, Colorado Avalanche

Last January, the Avalanche made one of the biggest blockbuster trades in recent memory when they shipped Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. Players like Rantanen, a bona fide 100-point talent, rarely ever get traded, but the Avalanche decided to try and get ahead of a situation that they thought could potentially pose a problem down the road. Rantanen was due for a massive contract extension, and while it’s not entirely clear what the ask was, Colorado clearly wasn’t comfortable paying it. They moved Rantanen to avoid the possible outcome of losing him for nothing, instead getting a return built around Martin Necas, an excellent player in his own right. Now, less than a year later, the Avalanche find themselves in the exact same situation with Necas.

Much like Rantanen last year, Necas will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end and is due for a hefty raise. He scored a career-high 83 points last season and with two goals on opening night, Necas seems poised to break that this season. The 26-year-old will get a full season on Nathan MacKinnon’s wing and play on a potent power play that also boasts Cale Makar. There are few scenarios better around the league for a player like Necas to hit 90 points.

If he gets anywhere in that vicinity, Necas, who is earning $6.5 million this year, could easily command more than $10 million a season on his next deal. The cap is skyrocketing and with some of the contracts we’ve seen in recent weeks, it would be shocking if Necas took anything less than an eight-figure AAV. The Avalanche are going to have to decide if that’s with them or someone else. If it is with them, it really begs the question, why wouldn’t they have just signed Rantanen? Necas’s deal probably won’t be too far off from Rantanen’s $12 million AAV that he signed with the Dallas Stars and Colorado must have had some inkling the cap was going to jump before they decided to trade him. Rantanen’s deal feels very palatable now, based on how much percentage of the cap it’s going to take up over the next few years, and his track record is much more solid than Necas.

Even though Necas's extension is the most pressing, it won’t be Colorado’s top priority. Makar will be eligible for a new deal next summer and it’s going to be a big one. Necas’s next contract likely won’t exceed MacKinnon’s number of $12.6 million, though Makar’s certainly will. How much higher remains to be seen, but the Avs will have to brace themselves for a cap hit that could rival Kirill Kaprizov’s. If they give Necas $10 million or $11 million, it could make things very tight, even with the cap going up significantly.

Colorado has also just found a decent balance on its roster for the first time in a few years. They had been very top-heavy and the Rantanen trade was supposed to help fix that, giving them more flexibility to add players down the lineup. Brock Nelson, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin and Mackenzie Blackwood are all locked up for several years between $5 million and $8 million, all reasonable cap hits for what they provide. It’s fair to wonder if they’d have to consider trading one of those pieces if they extend both Necas and Makar to make space. Let’s also not forget that Gabriel Landeskog has returned to action, so his $7 million salary can no longer be stashed on LTIR.

This is going to force Colorado into a tough decision with Necas, with each option coming with some risk. Do they extend him and potentially put their cap situation in a bad spot? Could they play out the year with Necas and risk losing him for nothing in the summer? Or do they trade him much like they did Rantanen, possibly making them worse in the short term?

The Avs are very much in the Stanley Cup conversation once again and how they handle Necas will go a long way in determining how late they are playing next spring. It’s possible we see another midseason blockbuster from Colorado if they aren’t comfortable with where the Necas situation is heading. Whether you agreed with the Rantanen trade or not, the Avalanche proved they aren’t afraid to make a bold move.

Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens

This isn’t the way Patrik Laine wanted to start out a contract year.

The Montreal Canadiens forward has been relegated to the fourth line and based on the way he played in the first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Laine isn’t likely to move up the lineup anytime soon. Laine skated just 12:51, managed only one shot, finished minus-2 and took an offensive zone penalty. Not to mention he lost a race to Auston Matthews on an empty-net goal that put the game out of reach for the Canadiens. Things got even worse Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. Laine played a little more but posted zeros across the boards. No points, no shots, no hits.

Laine started to fall out of favour with head coach Martin St. Louis late last season. He played more than 12 minutes only three times in his final seven games of the 2024-25 regular season and had only one shot or less in five of those contests. Things didn’t get any better in his two playoff games against the Washington Capitals, as Laine averaged just 11:42 and didn’t find the back of the net in either outing. This is going to be a critical year for Laine, who is still just 27 years old and will be seeking a new contract on July 1. He’s Montreal’s highest-paid forward and it’s hard to imagine him getting a raise on the $8.7 million he’s making now, whether that’s with the Canadiens or someone else, if his role doesn’t increase as the season goes on.

The fact that Laine is in this position is very surprising when you consider his debut with the team just 10 months ago. Laine began his tenure with the Canadiens last December after an injury delayed the start of his season and he exploded onto the scene, scoring eight goals in his first nine games. All of those goals came on the power play and it appeared Laine had turned back the clock to when he was one of the league’s most feared scorers. He seems miles away from that player now, though, and unless some drastic changes, Laine could be headed for another change of scenery next season.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas Golden Knights

If you thought Pavel Dorofeyev’s 35-goal campaign a year ago was just an anomaly, he appears motivated to prove everyone wrong this season. Dorofeyev is off to an incredible start, notching four goals in his first two games, and there’s reason to believe he can not only replicate what he did last season, but perhaps better it.

Dorofeyev scored two of his opening game goals on the power play, something he did just 13 times last year during that 35-goal season. The Golden Knights’ man advantage looks very potent to start the year, employing five forwards and clearly benefiting from the addition of Mitch Marner. Dorofeyev is pencilled in on the third line for now but getting a chance to play on the top power play with the likes of Marner, Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone is going to give him a great chance to produce offence on a nightly basis for the Golden Knights.

Secondly, Vegas is clearly trying to utilize Dorofeyev more this season, as he played more than 20 minutes in their first game. Last year, Dorofeyev only exceeded the 20-minute mark three times in 82 contests and averaged just 16:32 per game. The other thing to consider is last year’s big offensive output didn’t come on an inflated shooting percentage. Dorofeyev only shot 13.8 per cent last season, which isn’t an outrageous number and is actually slightly below his career average.

Vegas didn’t win its first game but scoring five times against the Los Angeles Kings, the second-best defensive team when it came to goals allowed last season, is a good sign that the Golden Knights may have a chance to be even more explosive than they were last year. Someone like Dorofeyev, who is proving to be one of the league’s up-and-coming talented goal scorers, is only going to benefit from a player like Marner joining the mix and the Golden Knights putting an emphasis on a five-forward power play. The floor seems like 30-plus goals once again and Dorofeyev may just be scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.

Arturs Silovs, Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a statement both on the ice and prior to puck drop on the NHL’s opening night of the 2025-26 season. Sidney Crosby and company were supposed to be destined for the league’s basement, but someone forgot to tell the Pens. Pittsburgh walked into New York and handed the Rangers a 3-0 loss, as their former head coach Mike Sullivan looked on from behind the bench. The result was a little surprising, though opting to start Arturs Silovs caught even more people off guard.

Pittsburgh went with Silovs instead of veteran Tristan Jarry, who despite coming off a tough year is still making $5.3 million and has nearly 300 games under his belt with the franchise. You would’ve thought Jarry might have at least gotten the benefit of the doubt for the first game, but it’s clear the Pens felt Silovs gave them the best chance to win and they weren’t concerned about ruffling anyone’s feathers. Silovs ended up posting a 25-save shutout and has a real shot to claim the job if he can put together a solid stretch of play.

The 24-year-old Silovs burst onto the scene during the 2023-24 playoffs for the Vancouver Canucks, where he posted six quality starts and a shutout while almost helping his team to the Western Conference Final. He wasn’t nearly as good last season in limited action, but Pittsburgh bought low on Silovs, banking that he could recapture that post-season form from a couple of years ago.

Meanwhile, Jarry is coming off a season that saw him get waived and sent to the AHL, while finishing with an .893 save percentage and a goals against average over three. He already had an uphill climb to officially reclaim his job in the Penguins crease, and if Silovs continues to play like this, Jarry is going to have an even bigger task on his hands. He’s at least off to a good start, having a decent outing and picking up the win Thursday against the New York Islanders. Jarry is going to need to play like that consistently to keep the net.

What’s interesting here is Pittsburgh might be the only official seller at this point, so if they were to catch lightning in a bottle with Silovs it could ultimately work to their detriment if their quest is to land the No. 1 pick. That said, as long as Crosby is on the roster you know he is going to do everything in his power to keep winning games. So, if Silovs shows he’s the best guy for the job, expect Jarry to have a tough time earning a regular share of the Penguins' crease.