Martin Necas delivered a classic bit of post-game trash talk with a smile after Team Czechia’s qualification-round win over Denmark at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Following Czechia’s 3-2 victory on Tuesday, which punched their ticket to the quarterfinals and set up a highly anticipated rematch against Canada, the Colorado Avalanche forward was asked about facing the favorites in Team Canada, who had dominated them in the preliminary round opener.
Necas joked that the earlier loss was intentional.
“We let them win the first one, because we knew that we’re not going to win two in a row against Canada,” he said. Clearly joking, the media around him got a good chuckle out of the comments.
Teammate Tomas Hertl piled on with similar humor: “Exactly, that was our plan, because we say we can’t probably beat Canada in the same tournament twice, so we give them the first win. So now it’s our turn.”
The comments went viral as a lighthearted jab, even though some misinformed fans mistook the message as a call-out by Necas. He wasn’t really even trying to play mind games.
The chances that Czechia wins aren’t great. They got blown out by Canada in the group stage, where Canada outshot them 36-26. Personally, Necas has been on fire in the Olympics, posting multi-point games in three straight outings. He had a goal and an assist against Denmark to lead the team with seven points (3G, 4A) through the tournament.
Now, the Czechs get their shot at revenge in an elimination quarterfinal matchup against the top-seeded Canadians on Wednesday (10:40 a.m. ET / 8:40 a.m. MT, broadcast on Peacock, CBC, etc.). Necas acknowledged the challenge ahead, noting Canada will “be coming hot” and stressing the need to avoid “stupid mistakes.”
If nothing else, his comments set up what could be one of the tournament’s most compelling games: a rematch where the underdogs are talking big, and the favorites are trying to stay red hot and remain the favorites to win gold.
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