Mailbag: Necas' future with Avalanche; potential sleeper destination for Crosby 

NHL.com's weekly Over the Boards mailbag is back for another season. Senior writer Dan Rosen sifted through your questions sent to him on X and chose five to answer this week.

To participate in future mailbags, send your questions to @drosennhl on X and use #OvertheBoards.

Do you have any insight on the discussions between Martin Necas and the Avalanche on a contract extension? How long could you see this playing out? Could it end up being the exact situation they were just in last year with Mikko Rantanen? -- @CollegenflS

Necas reportedly said in Denver last week that there are active negotiations between his agent and the Avalanche, but he was vague with details. He's in the last year of a two-year, $13 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) that he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes before they traded him to the Avalanche last season in the three-way deal that landed Rantanen in Raleigh on Jan. 24.

The longer it plays out the more likely it can become a repeat of the Rantanen situation, where the Avalanche couldn't get him signed or didn't want to pay him what he eventually got with the Dallas Stars ($12 million AAV; eight years, $96 million) and decided to trade him midseason. Trading Rantanen and the No. 1 wing they got for him in back-to-back seasons would seemingly be a devasting blow to the Avalanche's chances of winning the Stanley Cup again.

It depends on Necas' ask, which reportedly could be a $10 million AAV in his next deal, and how the Avalanche feel about that. Necas is Colorado's best wing, the likely linemate for center Nathan MacKinnon, and he's coming off his best season with 83 points (27 goals, 56 assists) in 79 games split between Carolina and Colorado. He had 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 30 games with the Avalanche after the trade and four points (one goal, three assists) in seven playoff games against the Dallas Stars in the first round.

Clearly, the rising NHL salary cap will help Colorado sign Necas. It will be $104 million next season and $113.5 million in 2027-28, but that should be the first season on defenseman Cale Makar's new contract. He has this season and next season remaining on his current contract. Makar's new contract will be massive. That could play a role in the Necas negotiations. So could Necas' play. A strong start will boost his value. It's unlikely a slow start diminishes his value.

Are the Hurricanes a sleeper team for landing Sidney Crosby if he becomes available? They've got lots of cap space and prospects. Kyle Dubas and Eric Tulsky have done business before and are cut from the same new school, analytics cloth. Why not Carolina? -- @IronCaniac

The Carolina Hurricanes are as much of a sleeper team as 29 other teams in the League when it comes to Sidney Crosby and where he could play in the future if, and this is the biggest if in hockey, he and the Pittsburgh Penguins decide the best course of action is to part ways. The only team that really isn't a sleeper and is more of a favorite to land Crosby in a trade is the Colorado Avalanche, and that's only because of MacKinnon. Crosby and MacKinnon are obviously tight, each from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and it's been widely reported that if Crosby eventually wants to leave Pittsburgh the opportunity to play with MacKinnon in Colorado would be intriguing to him.

However, the Hurricanes are an interesting option for Crosby and Co. because of the reasons you mentioned and, most importantly, they're a team built to win right now. If Crosby leaves Pittsburgh, it'll be for a chance to win a fourth Stanley Cup championship.

Crosby must be taken at his word; he still believes in the Penguins, believes in what they're trying to do, his role there, the importance of it, and the opportunity to help them get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs and be a Stanley Cup contender again. He is aware of the speculation, understands it, but hasn't wavered.

"I'm worried about playing for Pittsburgh," Crosby, the Penguins captain, said at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour on Sept. 9. "I haven't seriously considered anything else."

If that ever changes, yes, Carolina would be a viable alternative.

In your estimation, which players who signed PTO deals might actually secure NHL jobs at least to start the season? -- @MrEd315

Matt Grzelcyk is the best bet to land a one-year NHL contract among the players in camp on professional tryout contracts. Grzelcyk is with the Chicago Blackhawks, who need experience on the back end to join a defense group that could feature three players in Sam Rinzel (21 years old), Artyom Levshunov (19), Kevin Korchinski (21) and Nolan Allan (22), who are all still on entry-level contracts. Wyatt Kaiser is 23 and Alex Vlasic is 24. Grzelcyk, 31, had 40 points (one goal, 39 assists) in 82 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

Robby Fabbri seems like a good fit in Pittsburgh. He can lend his experience to some of the Penguins' younger players. He can play a role in their bottom six forward group and bump up to the top six in a pinch. Later on, depending on how things are trending closer to the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, he could be moved to get the Penguins another asset, likely a draft pick.

Which team do you think will have the biggest drop-off this season? -- @Wildcoyote97

This might be low-hanging fruit, but it's the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals, the top two teams in the entire NHL standings last season. It's easy to say the Jets won't again be around 56 wins and 116 points, and the Capitals 51 wins and 111 points, because natural regression after such successful regular seasons is predictable. I think both will still be playoff teams, but there are reasons for predicting a drop-off.

The Jets took a hit when forward Nikolaj Ehlers left to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes. They'll have to replace his offense (0.91 points per game) with more production from forward Cole Perfetti (0.61 points per game) and added scoring from forward Gustav Nyquist. It hurts that center Adam Lowry might be out until November because of hip surgery. He's Winnipeg's leader and its third-line center. There is no guarantee Jonathan Toews will be able to handle being the No. 2 center in his first NHL season since taking a leave after the 2022-23 season. He is 37 and coming off significant health concerns.

In Washington, as mentioned in this space last week, it's asking a lot of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dylan Strome, Jakob Chychrun, Logan Thompson and, yes, Alex Ovechkin, to repeat what they did last season. Other than Ovechkin, who scored 44 goals last season, the others all had career years. That and the fact that they were the best comeback team in the League last season (25 comeback wins, eight in the third period) pushed Washington to the season it had.

On top of those facts is the competition in their divisions is better. In the Central Division, the Utah Mammoth have realistic playoff aspirations after falling seven points short of a playoff berth last season. The Dallas Stars, Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues should be playoff contenders too. In the Metropolitan Division, the New York Rangers return with Mike Sullivan behind the bench and a hunger after falling way short of high expectations last season. The Hurricanes, particularly with Ehlers, are better. The New Jersey Devils should be a top-four team, and the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets figure to be in the hunt.

How excited should Rangers fans be about Scott Morrow? -- @captain9nyr

Excited with tempered enthusiasm that has a chance to grow. New York acquired Morrow on July 1 in the trade that sent K'Andre Miller to the Hurricanes. They also received a conditional first-round pick in 2026 or 2027 and a 2026 second-round draft pick. Here's what I wrote about Morrow for our 32-in-32 series in August after speaking with Jed Ortmeyer, the Rangers director of player development:

"Morrow, a right-handed shooting defenseman, is known for his size (6-2, 210) and his offensive ability, particularly his poise with the puck along the blue line, Ortmeyer said. The 22-year-old played for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final last season. Ortmeyer said getting NHL games, particularly five in the playoffs, has helped him set up his summer training, and gave him an understanding of the pace and style of play. Morrow's skating and understanding of gaps and when to join the rush are focal points for his continued development."

Morrow needs time to build on his skillset and improve his skating and gap control. Starting the season in Hartford of the American Hockey League should be best for Morrow, who had 39 points in 52 games with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL last season. The Rangers have Adam Fox, Braden Schneider and Will Borgen who will handle the right side of their defense. But Morrow should get NHL games this season and if he plays well he could push his way into being a regular in the top six.