Rantanen vs Necas points race to end of season.

[Svechhammer]

We say the same thing about Nate too here now and then. Rantanen has been fairly consistent for nearly a decade now. Whether that was Nate's doing or not, we will see. I could see him being meh in Carolina because they seem to spread the wealth as a team points wise, then hell get paid a ton to go to LA or Anaheim or wherever and he will dominate.

Put it this way, Necas has a really bad habit of skating directly into the teeth of the defense and turning the puck over quickly during things like a line change or whenever he gets the puck with a little space in the neutral zone. He's never seen a 1v2 or 1v3 that he doesn't think he can stick handle through, but he just doesn't have the hands to do it.

 

[slobbergob]

I agree. Also someone posted the xgf with and without Mack for rants, it’s really damning how reliant he is on Mack for production.

I mean, there's some truth to that this year for sure but in the past, that's not really been the case. Better with MacKinnon for sure but not completely reliant. I think Mikko might be getting undersold here from some people based off a not great sample size.

I think Mikko will click with Aho pretty quickly and score at ~85% of his rate with the Avs, if not better. It'll be up to the Canes to decide if that production is worth the rumored asking price from Mikko.

 

[slobbergob]

Gun to my head I say Necas outscores Mikko but the opposite wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Regardless Mikko is exactly what the Canes of the past have needed: Someone who can score an "easy" goal. Like many have said, Mikko can have stretches where he looks like he isn't doing much then all of a sudden he ends the game with 2 goals. That's a skill in its own. If they get a motivated Mikko who's moving his feet, he's gonna put up a lot of points.

 

[Aurinko]

Aho has played 20 mins, Rantanen 23min, but in Carolina Rantanen will not play as much as Aho unless they play him in several lines. Aho is a short hand specialist as well. Likely Rantanen TOI will be closer to 18 min.

Necas on the other hand will go from 18min to probably 23min even without any shorthanded time.

Just based on the game time alone, Necas should be on top.

 

[Bender]

Did I say anything like that?

I dunno, kinda seemed like you were trying to downplay his play because 'anyone can pass to Makar and MacKinnon'... maybe I misunderstood your meaning.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I dunno, kinda seemed like you were trying to downplay his play because 'anyone can pass to Makar and MacKinnon'... maybe I misunderstood your meaning.

The question was (verbatim) “isn't Necas a better player if he scores more for Colorado then Rantanen scores for Carolina?”

The common sense answer is “it depends on how he’s scoring those points”.

Yes if Necas is carving up defenses to score goals and primary assists at a high rate, then he will be regarded as having made a leap forward. If he’s picking up assists by standing around watching his teammates make goals happen, obviously that has no bearing on the quality of his personal performance.

And yes that applies to Rantanen as well, of course. Leeching points off your linemates is not the same thing as creating points through your own skill.

 

[Toby91ca]

Plus, Rantannen was 2nd only to Mackinnon in empty net points.

He leads in ENP, not 2nd. In fact, he's the overall league leader in ENP since he's entered the league (no for 9 years). No to say he gets the most every single year, but cummulatively.

 

[Martyoll]

He leads in ENP, not 2nd. In fact, he's the overall league leader in ENP since he's entered the league (no for 9 years). No to say he gets the most every single year, but cummulatively.

Ok, why not, somebody must be that idiot with stupid questions. I can UTFG, but I wanna ask... What is ENP?

 

[Bender]

The question was (verbatim) “isn't Necas a better player if he scores more for Colorado then Rantanen scores for Carolina?”

The common sense answer is “it depends on how he’s scoring those points”.

Yes if Necas is carving up defenses to score goals and primary assists at a high rate, then he will be regarded as having made a leap forward. If he’s picking up assists by standing around watching his teammates make goals happen, obviously that has no bearing on the quality of his personal performance.

And yes that applies to Rantanen as well, of course. Leeching points off your linemates is not the same thing as creating points through your own skill.

Seems kind of extreme.I don't think either player does that.

 

[Toby91ca]

Bro, sit down for a while, I have to tell you somethink important.... Thats no diference ! The waiting is killing me, I go smoke, drink, piss, eat etc.


Ok, why not, somebody must be that idiot with stupid questions. I can UTFG, but I wanna ask... What is ENP?

Empty Net Points

 

[flyfysher]

What means belly buttons? It sounds to me like somethink, I will looking for under my wifes tshirt...

It means the Canes players are shooting the puck into the goalie’s belly button. Another way of pointing out why they needed a scorer like Rantanen.

 

[Bender]

I am surprised, why his name is not here at official website

Colorado Avalanche - New York Islanders - Jan 28, 2025 | NHL.com

NHL Gamecenter - Colorado Avalanche vs. New York Islanders, Jan 28, 2025 - summary, stats, boxscore, play by play, recap and more.

www.nhl.com

His name was hung up at customs.

 

[OilersFanatics505]

Not if he scores those points by just handing off pucks to MacKinnon or Makar. That’s the 2022 Elias Lindholm special, Canes have already lived through all of these arguments.

they don’t ask how you do it, just how many…

 

[Boxscore]

Actually, this would be a fun exercise. I can see a case for both players. In a bubble, the upper hand should go to Rantanen, since he's outscored Necas every season... but a change in scenery is the X-factor. Sure, Necas benefits from playing with MacKinnon and Makar, but Rantanen has his buddy Aho, Svechnikov, Jarvis, Gostisbehere, etc. ... so it's not like he doesn't have quality toys of his own.

I'll say this -- the pressure and spotlight is on Rantanen. He's the headliner in the deal and is up for a massive payday. Necas has some XL shoes to fill, and to be honest, nobody is expecting him to replace Rantanen's production... so he's playing with house money... which is exactly why I could see him gaining confidence and putting up gaudy numbers in the last 32gp.

I'm going to guess...

Rantanen: 15g, 22a, 37 points

Necas: 12g, 23a, 35 points

 

[tarheelhockey]

Seems kind of extreme.I don't think either player does that.

I think all players do it to an extent. Take Necas’ assists yesterday, he didn’t do a whole to create those goals. Pass the puck to Makar and you’ll have a really good chance of scoring a point. I’m sure Rantanen scored plenty of points that way too. It’s an inflation on anyone’s stats, even a top line player, when they pass the puck to a Hart contender. Again, Canes fans already went through this with Elias Lindholm superficially becoming a “top 10 center” for one glorious season where he was skating between two Hart contenders.

 

[tarheelhockey]

they don’t ask how you do it, just how many…

They literally do ask how you do it, unless you think Rob Brown was one of the most dominant players in history.

 

[Boxscore]

I watched both of the Avs games since the trade, closely focusing on Necas. I have mixed feelings about the fit... but overall, Necas has impressed me. The Avs -- especially MacKinnon -- are going to have to make some adjustments while test-driving Necas. But he's such a cerebral player, that he'll be the one to lessen the learning curve for them, imho.

In the first game, he and MacKinnon were feeling each other out and over-passed quite a bit. Necas also traveled to areas where he wasn't expected, especially on the PP cycle... all of this will get worked out in practice.

Imho, for this to work perfectly, Nate Dog is going to need to be willing to increase his shooting % by........ a lot! Rantanen has a mammoth shot and likes to wire it. MacK. will need to take on that role, which Necas to a lesser extent. On the PP, I think Makar will end up shooting even more. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Avs try to land a sniper at the deadline or before... someone like Boeser (but not him per se).

 

[PAZ]

I watched both of the Avs games since the trade, closely focusing on Necas. I have mixed feelings about the fit... but overall, Necas has impressed me. The Avs -- especially MacKinnon -- are going to have to make some adjustments while test-driving Necas. But he's such a cerebral player, that he'll be the one to lessen the learning curve for them, imho.

In the first game, he and MacKinnon were feeling each other out and over-passed quite a bit. Necas also traveled to areas where he wasn't expected, especially on the PP cycle... all of this will get worked out in practice.

Imho, for this to work perfectly, Nate Dog is going to need to be willing to increase his shooting % by........ a lot! Rantanen has a mammoth shot and likes to wire it. MacK. will need to take on that role, which Necas to a lesser extent. On the PP, I think Makar will end up shooting even more. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Avs try to land a sniper at the deadline or before... someone like Boeser (but not him per se).

Mack is already 2nd in the league for shots and Makar is 17th (2nd for defensemen).

Necas is going to have to get use to shooting a lot more. It'll all work out in time, but Necas has the ability. He'll just need some time adapting to the role.

 

[forsbergavs32]

I watched both of the Avs games since the trade, closely focusing on Necas. I have mixed feelings about the fit... but overall, Necas has impressed me. The Avs -- especially MacKinnon -- are going to have to make some adjustments while test-driving Necas. But he's such a cerebral player, that he'll be the one to lessen the learning curve for them, imho.

In the first game, he and MacKinnon were feeling each other out and over-passed quite a bit. Necas also traveled to areas where he wasn't expected, especially on the PP cycle... all of this will get worked out in practice.

Imho, for this to work perfectly, Nate Dog is going to need to be willing to increase his shooting % by........ a lot! Rantanen has a mammoth shot and likes to wire it. MacK. will need to take on that role, which Necas to a lesser extent. On the PP, I think Makar will end up shooting even more. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Avs try to land a sniper at the deadline or before... someone like Boeser (but not him per se).

I noticed some adjustment on the PP during the Avs-Rangers game. The Avs were moving more in the zone (something we've been wanting for a couple years now) and it seemed like aside from the 1st Makar goal, they were setting up Necas a lot for one-timers and he I believe hit 3 posts. So hopefully those start going in for him.

With Mikko, I'll be curious to watch more Canes games to see how they deploy him. Mikko spent a lot of years mainly hanging out around the right circle looking for that sharp angle one-timer, so I want to see if Brind'Amour can get him out of his comfort zone for some different look.

Overall I feel like this trade can be a big benefit for both guys who may have needed a change of scenery.

 

[Pacman33]

Feels strange to say but id be somewhat surprised if necas doesnt outscore mikko rest of season. At least if he sticks with mack. Huge upgrade linemate wise if he stays with nate and prob bout 3 extra minutes of toi than he will was getting. Mikko gets to play with aho whose great but hes not mackinnon and prob gets 3 minutes less of toi than he got on colorado

 

[Aurinko]

Feels strange to say but id be somewhat surprised if necas doesnt outscore mikko rest of season. At least if he sticks with mack. Huge upgrade linemate wise if he stays with nate and prob bout 3 extra minutes of toi than he will was getting. Mikko gets to play with aho whose great but hes not mackinnon and prob gets 3 minutes less of toi than he got on colorado

I would expect both players production to take a dive, since getting used to new team takes a time and both seemed quite shocked in the beginning, so more than line chemistry it should be more a mental thing to adjust.

 

[D Wakaluk]

How did Rantenannenne look in his first game anyway?

 

[Discipline Daddy]

Rantanen looked pretty good in his first game. I was really impressed with his holding onto the puck. Exactly as advertised. We didn't see his shot as much as I wanted. By memory he had 2 or 3 decent shots and his best opportunity was hitting the post. His chemistry wasn't there with his linemates yet.

One thing about Necas I haven't read here is he has a really good one timer. Necas's shot by itself is not elite, but his one timer is a really nice asset and I bet the Avs can find a way to use it well. Also Necas's zone entries are a thing of beauty. God I love watching him carve up and enter the zone. Now, half the time he turns it over immediately afterwards by trying to do too much, but damn he makes some entries nonetheless that 90% of the league just can't pull off. He's a ferrari.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

Take Necas’ assists yesterday, he didn’t do a whole to create those goals. Pass the puck to Makar and you’ll have a really good chance of scoring a point.

This is actually a perfect example of how your bias is completely clouding your ability to just give the player a little credit. Necas didn't 'stand around and do nothing'... He made a zone entry with speed, made a no look drop pass, and backed off the D to give him room.

You're setting yourself up some wiggle room to explain why Necas might score like a bunch more points than Rantanen, and that's fine, but just be honest with yourself - you really don't want it to happen and you're clearly going to try to resist it using dialogue on here lol.

 

[dirtydanglez]

necas is going to out score him. he'll have more icetime and freedom in denver while rantanen will have to play a more structured game with less ice time. i'll say 34 points for rantanen and 40 for necas.