With the excitement of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs and some notable events already taking place, one major piece of news buried over the past week is that the Carolina Hurricanes have no intention of signing the forward. Martin Necas to an extension this summer, and could look to move him in the offseason. Necas will become a restricted free agent on July 1 after his two-year, $6 million bridge contract expires.
Over the past four years, Necas has shown flashes of being a consistent scorer at the NHL level and flashes of being, at best, a complementary piece. For this reason, the General Manager Don Waddell and the Hurricanes organization do not appear adamant about meeting the demands of Necas, who likely has his eyes set on a long-term deal. Since Necas is still only 25 years old, an eight-year contract extension would put him between 33 and 34 years old upon expiration, meaning this may be his only chance to sign a max contract.
Playing up and down Carolina’s lineup, Necas certainly seems more comfortable on the wing, but has been known to line up in the middle at times. In 362 games with the Hurricanes, Necas scored 97 goals and 243 points and also scored 11 goals and 30 points in 59 postseason games.
Not only has Necas shown the ability to put together solid seasons, but playing in Carolina’s system has allowed his possession numbers to flourish, posting a CorsiFor% of 63.6 and 61.8 over the last two years alone. In the right situation, Necas could prove to be a smart investment in the short and long term.
Given that Necas falls somewhere between a top-line winger and a complementary piece, and assuming the Hurricanes allow him to discuss an extension with the acquiring team, Necas would do well to look to an already established team. The two that come to mind, in terms of need and style of play, would be the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers.
Even before the loss of the winger Valeri Nichushkin For at least the next six months, the Avalanche have had a problem at the wing position since the loss of Gabriel Landeskog after the 2022 Stanley Cup run. With Landeskog once again expected to start the season on LTIR and Nichushkin’s contract in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, Colorado should have more than enough financial flexibility to sign Necas. With Zach Paris confirmed having played his last game at the NHL level last week, and Jonathan Drouin Necas could be a solid option to move fluidly across the top two lines of the Avalanche’s forward core, potentially excluding Denver with a solid year.
Returning to the Eastern Conference; If any team was going to challenge the Hurricanes as the best defensive team in hockey, it would be the Panthers. Finishing behind Carolina in both CorsiFor percentage and penalty percentage, the Panthers were just one of two teams to allow fewer than 200 goals during the 2023-24 regular season.
Unfortunately, Florida has a difficult offseason ahead, with Samuel Reinhart and Brandon Montour ready to hit unrestricted free agency with very few dollars to go around. Acquiring Necas won’t completely replace the production left behind by Reinhart, but it would certainly soften the blow. Picking up Necas from the Hurricanes would also allow the Panthers to prioritize signing Montour to have a largely intact defensive unit heading into the 2024-25 NHL season.
As for the price of Necas, except for a possible expansion, it should not be as high as many think. Since it has already come to light that Carolina has no intention of giving Necas what she is asking for, the acquiring team would only be responsible for acquiring her signing rights from the beginning.
In this case, the Avalanche may be in a better position to acquire Necas from Carolina, as the Hurricanes may consider a bid for the 24th overall pick in this year’s upcoming Draft. Florida, on the other hand, has no ownership of its first-round pick this year, having sent it to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Claude Giroux trade.
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