Martin Necas and Jack Drury have settled in nicely, both on and off the ice, with the club. The short-term return on the NHL’s biggest in-season trade in two decades has been nothing but positive. The raw emotions of losing a core player and beloved teammate, Mikko Rantanen, have subsided, because life in the NHL goes on.

It was just over a month ago that Mikko Rantanen was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes in a stunner of a trade that sent Martin Necas and Jack Drury to the Colorado Avalanche. But the free-agent-to-be has quite the decision to make: will the Finnish star sign with the Hurricanes long-term? Or will he want to test the market this summer?

Fills empty cage

He has already moved Marcus Pettersson, Michael Bunting and recently acquired Vincent Desharnais. If he wants to continue retooling, Rickard Rakell would fetch a good price because the 29-goal scorer has three years left on his contract. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and forward Anthony Beauvillier are pending UFAs.

Drury scored a goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Friday's 5-2 win over the Wild. Drury ended his eight-game point drought with the tally, which ended up being the game-winner. The 25-year-old center has been playing on the third line lately,

Four trades now and not a rental property coming to Manhattan. This time around, Chris Drury is a lend-lease operator.

The Colorado Avalanche remain strong contenders for the Stanley Cup after trading Mikko Rantanen and acquiring Martin Necas and Jack Drury. With $4.76