When the Colorado Avalanche first dealt Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, it looked like a clear win for the Hurricanes. They were getting the best player in the deal, and it looked like they finally got their elite goal scorer for the playoffs.

But so far, that hasn’t been the case. Not only has Rantanen struggled in Carolina, but Martin Necas has stepped up his game significantly alongside Nathan MacKinnon, and has filled the void of Rantanen almost seamlessly.

Jesse Montano joined Daily Faceoff Live to talk about how Necas has done so far with the Avalanche, particularly at replacing Rantanen.

Jesse Montano: It’s smoothed everything over. [Necas has] 12 points in 11 games, and what’s been so interesting to watch is that, while we all know what an elite goal scorer Mikko Rantanen is despite the slow start in Carolina and how well he played next to Nathan MacKinnon, Marty Necas has just brought a different dynamic to that line. Part of it is the speed, and the fact that you have another guy out there who can be a one-man zone entry just like Nathan MacKinnon.

But maybe the underrated part of it is the fact that Nathan MacKinnon’s playing with another righty, which if you go back through most of his NHL career, he has not done that. He’s played almost exclusively with lefties. And I think Marty Necas, having that right hand shot, it’s forced Nathan McKinnon out of his comfort zone a little bit. It’s forced him out of playing on that left wall, hanging out, waiting for that shot. It’s forcing him to move and he actually even talked to us a little bit about that last night.

We’re seeing what GM Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic envisioned when they made this move is that they think Marty Necas is a good enough player that they can put him next to Nathan MacKinnon and that’s gonna elevate him to a different level. So far, that’s what we’ve seen, and I think given the magnitude of the trade, right now on Colorado’s side, it’s hard to picture this having gone much better than it has to this point.

You can watch the full episode here…

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