The NHL rumor mill is warming up with the draft weeks away. The Utah Mammoth holds the 4th overall pick after winning the lottery, along with the New York Islanders, who jumped to obtain the top overall pick later this month. Both lottery winners are rumored to be making a splash this summer and potentially switching their current pick. Bill Armstrong has stated that he would like to add scoring up front.
The Mammoth have 6 picks in the first three rounds of the 2026 draft. This allows flexibility to either draft at four or move the pick in an attempt to get scoring help. Word on the street is that Armstrong is looking to move the pick for a young, top-six forward.
The consensus among scouts is that almost all players in the draft will need another year in juniors or college, so despite having another great, young piece to the system, the immediate impact would not be realized with a draft choice. Despite the circle of players going to dinner, I do believe that Utah is very willing to move the pick for a player.
The problem is that everyone would like a young, scoring forward. If you have a player of this caliber, would you want to trade him? Luckily for the Mammoth, there may be a disgruntled forward not too far away with the Colorado Avalanche. Martin Necas was traded to the Avalanche last year with Jack Drury for Mikko Rantanen. Necas had a career year that began before his time in Colorado, but rumors say that Necas is unhappy in Colorado, just as he was in Carolina.
Martin Necas
Necas is 26 years old and was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 12th overall draft choice in the 2017 NHL Draft. The Czech Republic forward has already played in 8 NHL seasons, with almost 500 games played. Additionally, he is a playoff veteran, with 66 games in the postseason.
Armstrong's list for a scoring forward is being checked off with Necas, as he has over 70 points in two of the last 3 seasons. Last year, Necas had 83 points, and this was his third straight season with at least 24 goals. His skill set is through the roof and has not reached its prime. Besides having a quick release, Necas has elite speed and can create plays for his linemates.
Two concerns with Necas are that he does not commit to playing defense and causes costly turnovers in the neutral zone. Off the ice, the former Cane seems to be unhappy wherever he goes, as Carolina surprisingly signed him to a two-year contract last summer as a restricted free agent. He had been rumored to be moved in the summer before that contract. Now in Colorado, he is allegedly unhappy after playing with Nathan MacKinnon. This could be solved by moving Necas to the center position. I believe Necas has and will always want to play center, and having that commitment from an organization.
The final piece of the puzzle is the contract with the young forward. Necas becomes an unrestricted free agent after this upcoming season and currently makes $6.5 million. The Avalanche would welcome the salary cap relief as they have just over $1 million available. The Mammoth could offset some of the salary by trading Matias Maccelli. Maccelli makes $3,425,000 this year and is a restricted free agent next summer.
Colorado only has a fourth and seventh-round pick this year, so Utah could retain the fourth pick this year with Necas if Maccelli is part of the deal.