BOSTON — Martin Necas woke up on Long Island and was skating next to Nathan MacKinnon at TD Garden by lunchtime on Saturday.
Necas and Jack Drury were traded to the Avalanche on Friday night in a stunning three-team trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were awaiting a Saturday night tilt with the Islanders when they found out about the deal.
“Very crazy. I was full of emotions,” Necas said after the Avalanche’s 3-1 matinee loss to the Boston Bruins. “I’ve been there for all of my career over here (in North America) so far.