Avalanche’s Martin Necas and Jack Drury adapt to new lives after great trade | NHL Insider | Colorado Avalanche

Martin Necas and Jack Drury left their home in North Carolina Friday packed for a quick two-game road trip to New York. Six days later, they are both in Denver practicing for the first time with a new team and trying to calibrate their brains to match their new lives.

Much can change in a week and have for both. While both players have adjusted quite well on the ice in three games with avalanches, their heads have not really stopped spinning it.

These days, everyone seems to know if a trade is happening before the players involved in the deal do. Drury doesn’t have social media, but his family does and they gave him a heads up.

“I got a few lyrics from some people and I just knew the Rantan was coming to Carolina, but I didn’t think I was acting,” Drury said. “Then I was on the phone with my brother talking about something completely different, and he said, ‘I read online that you were traded.’ So that’s how I found out. “

In a few minutes, Drury went from thinking he would play with Mikko Rantan to be traded for him. That’s when the chaos really started.

Neither DRUY nor Necas slept much that Friday night. Both caught a 6 am flight Saturday from New York to Boston to start their new life and meet their new teammates. The fact that it was an afternoon game in Boston for Avalanche made everything even more chaotic.

“(We) went to the hotel, ate breakfast and just got to Rink,” Drury told Denver Gazette in Boston. “I probably had five minutes to review a few systems and things.”

After the Boston game, there really wasn’t much time for any of them to breathe. Avalanche had to go to New York immediately because Colorado had to play in Madison Square Garden less than 24 hours later. NECAS and DRUY were suddenly back in the same place where they started their days, just with brand new teammates.

Professional athletes need sleep to perform at the highest level, nor did much get it before the game against Bruins. Necas mentioned several times in Boston that he needed to get some sleep and that he would be okay.

He lived up to his word and picked up four assists in his next two matches with avalanche. DRUY didn’t do so bad either, scoring in back-to-back games, but with Road Trip now opposite Colorado was none of them on their way back to familiar surroundings. Instead, they flew back to Denver with what they had originally packed a few days before when they were members of the hurricanes.

Returning to North Carolina to grab a few things will not be an opportunity for any of them soon, but Necas got a helping hand.

“My boyfriend had planned a trip to New York City because Carolina was there,” Necas said. “She brought me some things and I have some things over here. But it’s very moving. It’s a bit stressful, but at the end of the day you just go to Rink, you play hockey and that’s the most important thing.”

Today’s day off in Colorado both let both sit down and take a breath, but the shock of it all is still there.

“The first few days, every 10 minutes, it hits you again, and it’s pretty crazy,” DRUY said. “Today’s Practice Day is probably the first day it feels more normal.”

Their heads may still spin until the NHL takes a break for the 4 nations that are face in just over a week. At that time they will be able to settle down a bit in Denver.

No matter what holiday plans they had, a little need to be changed to include a pit stop in their old home.

“Should adjust these plans at some point here,” Joked Drury. “I think the movements will hopefully take care of it.”

What I hear

– Colorado’s Power Play had become out of date in the last few months. For years it has been the Rantan, Makar and Mackinnon who ran things. Without the Rantan, they are forced to test some new looks that we have seen in the three matches since the trade.

“We’ve been in the same boat for years. We’re missing right -handed shots. We just don’t have anything, ever, so our powerplay is not an ideal setup right away,” coach Jared Bednar said after exercise on Thursday.

So far, we’ve seen Necas and Mackinnon move around as well as NECAs along the target line on Mackinnon’s side. It looks a little different after looking almost the same for over five years.

– No player will ever say no to more ice time, and Necas will definitely get it in Denver. He was an average of 18:05 in the evening in Carolina. This number will rise quite a bit with avalanche.

“He will play five minutes more one night here than he would have been to Carolina if he continues to play hard as he has been,” Bednar said.

More ice time means more production, especially if you play with Nathan Mackinnon.

What I see

– Valeri Nichushkin has really scaled his work on the ice since the downturn with his injury. He was on the ice on Thursday in a T-shirt, shorts and skates for just a little bit. Bednar said they are hopeful that he gets healthy during the break and returns immediately to the lineup when they resume the game on February 22 in Nashville.

– Miles Wood returned to action on the road trip and didn’t look like a guy afraid to throw his body around. That’s what avalanche needs in their bottom six, but given that he has been dealing with a back injury, it certainly feels like his game style can cause the damage that torches up again at some point.

What I think

– This trade is definitely an effort on Mackinnon from avalanche. They are betting that the Hart Trophy winner can transform a truly talented player in NECAS into an even more productive forward. Does necas instantly become as productive as the Rantan was in Denver? It’s a big question, but he’s in the process of a good start.

You can bet that the Avalanche faith that the Rantan benefits much more of Mackinnon than vice versa.

– If I’m the Rantan, there’s no reason not to test the open market at this point. He has no loyalty to the hurricane organization and he never gets an opportunity like this again. Elite Point producers rarely hit free agency, so it added some pizzazz to July 1 from NHL’s perspective.

Would I have given the Rantan $ 13-14 million? Probably not, but I would be willing to bet a few NHL teams would. Chicago is the first team to think about. They are desperate to find someone to play with Connor Bedard.