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Martin Necas

Hurricanes Increasingly Likely To Retain Martin Necas

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For the past several months, there has been an expectation that the Hurricanes would move restricted free agent forward Martin Necas among the belief that Necas would like a bigger role and a contract more significant than Carolina would like to offer.  However, while there was plenty of trade speculation in recent weeks, nothing came to fruition.  Now, GM Eric Tulsky told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that while they’re still talking to teams, a trade seems less likely at this point:

It is a lot easier to make trades before July 1 when teams have flexibility to go pivot and sign other players to replace whatever they gave up than it is after July 1 when their roster is mostly built. We are continuing to talk to teams and we don’t want to miss an opportunity to make the team better, but teams have less flexibility now than they had in June, so it’s harder to find a deal now than it was then.

A natural center, Necas has spent the bulk of his NHL career playing on the wing, a role he held for the majority of last season.  The 25-year-old had a breakout showing in 2022-23, collecting 28 goals and 43 assists in 82 games but he wasn’t able to match those numbers last season.  Still, he potted 24 goals and 29 helpers in 77 contests, the second-best output of his career.  That has him well-positioned to earn a significant raise on the $3MM AAV and $3.5MM salary he had in 2023-24.

Necas was one of 14 players to file for salary arbitration earlier this month, taking the possibility of him signing an offer sheet off the table.  In doing so, he guaranteed himself a contract by early August.  Talks between the two sides remain ongoing with Tulsky acknowledging that they’ve discussed everything between a one-year agreement to a max-term eight-year pact.  Necas is two years away from UFA eligibility so a one-year deal would allow them to kick the question of his long-term future with the club down the road.

This has been a busy offseason for Carolina so far, one that has seen them lose Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Stefan Noesen.  While they’ve brought in replacements for most players, they’ve largely been more role players with the exception of blueliners Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere.

As a result of the turnover, the Hurricanes find themselves with ample cap space, checking in with a little over $13.85MM in room, per PuckPedia.  With that much flexibility, Tulsky has a chance to sign both Necas and RFA winger Seth Jarvis to long-term agreements and still be under the $88MM Upper Limit come October.  With Necas having the closer deadline to sign as arbitration hearings end in early August, expect his case to be Carolina’s focus in the near term.  But now, after it looked like a foregone conclusion that he’d be moved, there’s a very real possibility that he’s in the lineup for the Hurricanes on opening night.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Which Player Will Be The Next Domino To Fall On The Trade Market?

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The NHL calendar has finally entered the ’dog days’ of the summer as activity around the league has cooled off dramatically. Most, if not all, of the needle-moving free agents are off the board and the trade market has not developed as expected up to this point. Nevertheless, there are still some players rumored to be on the block including Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets, Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Patrik Laine of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With how things have played out around the league, Ehlers feels like the most high-profile trade candidate to change hands this summer. The smooth-skating Dane is entering the last year of a seven-year, $42MM contract signed with the Jets in 2017 and is not expected to extend his stay in Winnipeg. Ehlers has been a reliable top-six forward for the Jets when healthy and is elite in terms of puck possession as evidenced by his career CorsiFor% of 57.6%. He has been relatively quiet in the postseason throughout his career which could give interested parties some pause. Winnipeg could still extend Ehlers as they took nearly the entire offseason last year to sign Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck to long-term contracts but the trade rumors around Ehlers appear to have more veracity.

Necas entered the summer as one of the top players on the trading block but his market has seemingly cooled over the last few weeks. The Hurricanes reportedly were not interested in signing Necas to a long-term deal but failed to find an offer to their liking during the 2024 NHL Draft. Now that Carolina has lost forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, and Stefan Noesen to free agency, the team may be more willing to retain Necas. The skilled forward has prohibited himself from being given an offer sheet this summer as he elected for salary arbitration but the Hurricanes can still trade him during that window if they find a suitable offer.

Shortly before the 2024 NHL Draft, it was reported that Laine and the Columbus Blue Jackets had mutually agreed to find a suitable trade for the player this summer. However, with Laine still in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, the likelihood of a deal squarely rests on when he exits the program. Now that most teams have done most of their heavy lifting this summer, it will be difficult to find a trade partner to take on Laine’s $8.7MM salary for the next two years. Between 2021-2023, Laine scored 48 goals and 108 points for Columbus in 111 games but only put up nine points in 18 games for the team last year. The former second-overall pick could surely use a fresh start outside the Blue Jackets organization but his trade market may be slow to develop.

There is no guarantee that any of the listed players will be moved this offseason. Ehlers and Necas could both sign extensions with their respective teams and Laine may have a change of heart now that Columbus is making a change at head coach. Nevertheless, with the trade market being the realm from which the next big offseason move will come, which of these players do you think will get the ball rolling?

Which Player Will Be The Next Domino To Fall On The Trade Market?
Patrik Laine 33.07% (416 votes)
Nikolaj Ehlers 32.99% (415 votes)
Martin Necas 22.73% (286 votes)
Other (Comment below) 11.21% (141 votes)
Total Votes: 1,258

14 Players Elect For Salary Arbitration

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and originally produced by the National Hockey Leaguer Players’ Association, 14 players have elected for salary arbitration this summer. The deadline for team-elected arbitration is tomorrow. Friedman also notes the arbitration hearings will happen between July 20th and August 4th. To add context, not every one of these players will appear for a hearing with their respective teams as they may continue to negotiate on a new contract. However, each player who elects for salary arbitration is now prohibited from negotiating with other teams or signing an offer sheet. Here is a list of the players that have elected for arbitration:

F Beck Malenstyn (Buffalo Sabres)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres)
F Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes)
D Jake Christiansen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Kirill Marchenko (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings)
D Spencer Stastney (Nashville Predators)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (New York Islanders)
D Ryan Lindgren (New York Rangers)
D Ty Emberson (San Jose Sharks)
D J.J. Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning)
F Connor Dewar (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Free Agency Notes: Wedgewood, Girgensons, Necas

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Dallas Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood is expected to test free agency on July 1st (as per Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside). The 31-year-old is coming off a two-year, $2MM that was the first one-way NHL deal of Wedgewood’s career. The Etobicoke, Ontario native has made it clear that he would like a raise on his $1MM and given that he didn’t start making NHL money until he was 29, it makes sense that would attempt to maximize his earning potential while he has a window to do so.

Wedgewood wasn’t great last season, posting a 16-7-5 record with the Stars, a 2.85 goals-against average, and a .899 save percentage. However, the free-agent goalie market is very thin this summer and he should have an opportunity to get a multi-year deal at bigger money than his last contract.

In other free agency notes:

  • The Buffalo Sabres are still waiting to hear if forward Zemgus Girgensons plans to test free agency (as per Lance Lysowski). It was reported a month ago that the Sabres wouldn’t re-sign the 30-year-old, but they have reportedly offered him a contract to stay in Buffalo. The Riga, Latvia native has spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Sabres, dressing in 688 games. Girgensons has only topped 20 points twice in his career and not since the 2014-15 season.  He signed a one-year $2.5MM last June to forgo free agency but had the worst offensive season of his career with just eight goals and six assists in 63 games. While he didn’t produce much offense, his possession numbers at even-strength weren’t awful with a CF% of 49.2%.
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that the Carolina Hurricanes could change their mind on trading forward Martin Necas. The Hurricanes have been trying to sign pending unrestricted free agent Jake Guentzel and if he leaves Friedman believes the team could keep Necas and go to arbitration or sign a one-year deal. Carolina let the Columbus Blue Jackets negotiate a contract extension with Necas in an attempt to trade for the fourth overall pick, but the two sides weren’t able to reach an agreement.

Devils Notes: Smith, Necas, Pesce

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James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now is reporting that New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith will likely become a free agent on July 1st. Nichols added that a different source of his told him that if Smith reaches free agency, it will be his choice and not the Devils. Smith was a trade candidate at the NHL trade deadline but ultimately stayed in New Jersey, however, when the season ended, Smith told the media that he hadn’t discussed a contract extension with the Devils.

The Devils have been busy as of late and are expected to make some major moves this summer, Smith has acknowledged that there is a pecking order to things, and it seems entirely possible that he is open to re-signing with the team. The 35-year-old has stated to the media that he loves New Jersey, but the most important thing to him is staying in the NHL.

In other Devils notes:

  • Frank Seravalli has linked the Devils to Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas saying that New Jersey may have offered their 10th overall picks in this year’s draft in an attempt to acquire the 25-year-old. At this point, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Carolina is fielding a ton of offers for Necas, while simultaneously trying to sign pending unrestricted free agents such as Jake Guentzel. Necas had a solid, but unspectacular year with the Hurricanes, dressing in 77 games while posting 24 goals and 29 assists. He is a pending restricted free agent and is due a $3.5MM qualifying offer.
  • Rumors continue to fly about the Devils signing free-agent defenseman Brett Pesce. The chatter began when Elliotte Friedman of the 32 Thoughts podcast linked the two sides late last week. Devils’ general manager Tom Fitzgerald told The Jeff Marek Show that he was in the market for defensemen to add to his backend. Pesce is a defense-first rearguard who can play in a variety of roles, he posted a career-high 30 points in the 2022-23 season, but that dropped last year to just three goals and 10 assists in 70 games.

Offseason Notes: Trade Board, Canadiens, Stars

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TSN’s Chris Johnston published his annual offseason trade board in The Athletic in the middle of last week which sees a surprising name at the top of the list. At the top of the board, Johnston indicates that Mitch Marner is the top name on the trade block, even after cold water has been dumped on the likelihood of a Marner trade in recent weeks.

The rest of the names on Johnston’s list are unsurprising, as Boston Bruins’ Linus Ullmark, Carolina Hurricanes’ Martin Necas, Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers, and Ottawa Senators’ Jakob Chychrun round out the top five. Although the movement of any of these players is far from a guarantee, the NHL is expected to see a major shakeup in the summer months.

Nevertheless, the reality of a Marner trade is becoming less and less possible by the day, even after a dismal playoff performance and the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brendan Shanahan, indicating that “everything is on the table” with Toronto’s roster this summer. Marner holds a full no-movement clause in his contract; allowing him to control his destiny with the Maple Leafs’ organization. Marner can ride out the last year of his contract on Toronto’s roster and become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he chooses to do so.

Other notes:

  • Another day has passed, which means another team has been directly linked to Martin Necas. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported yesterday that the Montreal Canadiens are looking to add a scoring forward before next Friday’s NHL Draft, and have been looking into Necas and Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. There are several options available to General Manager Kent Hughes heading into the offseason, outside of just Necas and Zegras. Throughout his tenure as General Manager of the Canadiens organization, Hughes has dived much more into the trade market to improve his club rather than bring in free-agent talent.
  • The Dallas Stars received solid news on the injury front as General Manager Jim Nill stated that no injured member of the club requires surgery in the offseason (Article Link). During the Stars’ postseason run in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, all of Jani Hakanpää, Chris Tanev, Tyler Seguin, and Roope Hintz dealt with varying levels of injuries throughout the playoffs but should have an entire offseason to train and recover. Surprisingly, Hakanpää will not require a procedure this summer as a lower-body injury kept him out of the entirety of the postseason as his season concluded on March 16th.

Metro Notes: Shesterkin, Necas, Mercer

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Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic speculated about how much goaltender Igor Shesterkin will be paid on his next contract with the New York Rangers. The 28-year-old is eligible to sign an extension on July 1st and given his play the last few seasons and his importance to the Rangers, it will likely be a record-breaking deal for a goaltender.

Shesterkin is reportedly looking for an AAV of $12MM, while most of the models Luszczyszyn uses to show his value are in the range of $9MM – $12MM annually. Given the volatility of the goaltending position, it’s fair to believe that Shesterkin could live up to a $12MM salary in some seasons of the deal, however, as he enters his 30s, it’s possible his play could fall off as it often does with goaltenders on the back half of their career.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that a few teams around the NHL are wondering if an offer sheet is a possibility for Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas. Carolina’s ask for the 25-year-old remains quite high, and the team has reportedly talked to almost every team around the league. Necas is a two-time 20-goal scorer who posted 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games last season. The former first-round pick is a restricted free agent after making $3.5MM last season and will likely sign a lucrative long-term deal whether it’s an offer sheet or otherwise.
  • Dawson Mercer was reportedly never part of the New Jersey Devils trade for goaltender Jacob Markstrom (as per Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show). There was speculation that the 22-year-old was offered at one point, but Friedman poured cold water on that rumor saying that he had multiple sources tell him that the former first-round pick was never in the trade. Mercer took a step back last season but is just a year removed from posting 27 goals and 29 assists in 82 games.

Snapshots: Byfield, Necas, Ehlers, Helenius

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The Los Angeles Kings are set to face the consequences of their drafting this summer, with each of Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Jordan Spence, and Alex Turcotte set to enter restricted free agency. Of the quartet, only Byfield has emerged as a legitimate NHL option, stamping that sentiment with 20 goals and 55 points in 80 games this season. Byfield held onto a role on the team’s second-line and second power-play unit, and will now be paid accordingly per John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor, who projects a $6MM cap hit and eight years of term on Byfield’s next deal.

Hoven explained that Byfield’s lack of multi-season success likely holds him from too hefty of a price tag and makes the interim cost of a bridge deal hard to gauge. The Kings are also face at least one major free agent in every year between 2026 and 2030 – and likely wouldn’t be too keen on circling back to Byfield’s negotiations on top of it. Through Hoven’s projections, Byfield would earn an admirable salary – thanks to a strong season and his 2020 second-overall selection – and gains the confidence of a long-term deal without signing into his 30s. The deal also works for the team, who have $20.2MM in projected cap space to sign 10 pending free agents this summer. Byfield earning $6MM would leave plenty of room for the Kings to re-sign strong lineup pieces like Matt Roy, Viktor Arvidsson, and Cam Talbot.

Los Angeles had to wait for Byfield’s breakout but seems to have finally situated him in a role he’s comfortable with. They’ll hope he can build on his commendable scoring on a new deal next season, though with negotiations could become complicated with no recent comparable contract for Byfield’s delayed breakout.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes will be looking for like-value players in their search for a Martin Necas trade, shares Chris Johnston on the Chris Johnston Show. Johnston went on to mention Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers as a situation where a swap could make sense. Ehlers is in a similar situation to Necas – tentatively on the trade block after a successful season and capable of holding down a confident top-six role. Necas is a pending restricted free agent this summer, due for his first major pay raise following the end of a two-year, $6MM bridge contract. Ehlers’ already makes $6MM each season, though he’s set to enter unrestricted free agency next summer. Both players are due for lofty salaries on their next deals after each showing the potential to reach 60 or more points in one season. Johnston was hesitant to speak too confidently about a swap happening, though it could certainly make sense for a Hurricanes team in the midst of their Stanley Cup window and a Jets team still a few years away.
  • Star 2024 NHL Draft prospect Konsta Helenius expressed a desire to move to the NHL as quickly as possible in an interview with Adam Kimelman of NHL.com. Helenius told Kimelman, “I played against NHL guys. Of course it gives me confidence because I think I did a great job against them – I think I’m very closet to the NHL.” Kimelman went on to explain that Helenius is not just pushing himself to be an NHL player, but to be one of the best Finns to ever appear in the league. That kind of enthusiasm should boost the excitement around him ahead of the draft, though he’s already a top 10 pick on many public scouting boards. Regardless of where he goes, though, it seems Helenius is much more focused on seizing the opportunity of his first NHL training camp.

Bruins, Hurricanes Could Swap Linus Ullmark and Martin Necas

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The Boston Bruins are continuing to garner more and more interest for their former Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Linus Ullmark, giving them a chance to be picky about the return. That could exclude much of the league from acquiring the star netminder, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman sharing on The Jeff Marek Show that he doesn’t believe teams like the Vancouver Canucks or Montreal Canadiens have the assets to acquire Ullmark. Friedman added that the Carolina Hurricanes could be one of the few teams rich enough for the deal, especially if they involve forward Martin Necas.

Necas has been a recent addition to trade rumors, with Friedman recently sharing that the Hurricanes “prefer” to trade the pending restricted-free-agent rather than re-sign him and that they were eyeing top prospects in return. Necas, the 12th-overall pick in 2017, posted a career-high 28 goals and 71 points in 82 games last season. He succeeded it with a much more modest 53 points this year, though he still managed 24 goals. Necas has totaled 243 points across 362 career games, working his way into a regular role in Carolina’s top-six after growing pains early in his career. At just 25, Necas represents one of the best young scorers on the open market and should be poised for a long-term deal with a yearly price tag of around $7.5MM.

Adding young, secondary scoring is a big priority for the Bruins entering this off-season, giving relief to the more surprising pieces of their top-six, like Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie. On top of his offense, Necas could also support the team’s center depth, after recording a career-high 417 faceoffs last sesaon. He won 45.1 percent of those draws, bringing his career total to 41.5 percent at the faceoff dot. That’s certainly not strong enough to warrant an everyday role at center, but it could be a welcome boost for a Bruins lineup that still hasn’t reloaded their depth chart after Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired. Ullmark could be a small price to check off two big boxes for Boston.

But shaping a trade package around Necas and Ullmark will be tricky. There isn’t much precedent for swapping top-end goalies and forwards, though each of Frederik Andersen, Robin Lehner, Cory Schneider, and Semyon Varlamov were traded for first-round picks at some point in their careers. Two of those trades didn’t involve any other pieces, while the other two added a second-round pick onto the pile. That’s a bleak valuation of top goalies on the trade market, made more challenging by Necas’ RFA status making him a much more controllable asset than the 2025-UFA Ullmark. Those factors could put Carolina in a good position to ask for even more Ullmark in a swap, especially as interest in Necas grows across the league.

The Hurricanes would confidently round out their lineup with Ullmark’s addition, while moving out a winger set to command a good deal of cap space. That’d be a fantastic win-win for interim general manager Eric Tulsky, who’s in his first tenure as an NHL GM after Don Waddell left Carolina for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Carolina is also facing contract negotiations with Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei this summer – surely pushing them to want an answer on Necas sooner rather than later.

Photos courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.

Evening Notes: Tanev, Necas, Heinen

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Dallas Stars defenseman Chris Tanev has revealed the injury that forced him out of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, documented by NHL.com’s Taylor Baird (Twitter link). Per Tanev, he felt a pop in his ankle in his first shift after blocking an Evander Kane shot. The resulting injury was to his peroneal tendons and won’t require surgery to fix.

Tanev is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, having played the final year of a four-year, $18MM deal signed with the Calgary Flames the last time he hit the market. Tanev has solidified his status as one of the staunchest defenders in the league on the contract – averaging over 20 minutes of ice time across 278 games since 2020 despite totaling just 72 points. Tanev’s played with just three teams over 14 years in the NHL and could continue that loyalty with the Stars, with the team interested in re-signing the veteran before he hits the market on July 1st.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Both the Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas are still “preferring” to part ways, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the Donie and Dhali Show (Twitter link). Friedman adds that the Hurricanes would likely be targeting top prospects for Necas – adding that he doesn’t envision a swap of Necas and Filip Hronek when speaking to Donnie and Dhali’s Canucks theme. Necas has scored 124 points across 159 games in the last two seasons, emerging as a legitimate scoring threat in a Hurricanes lineup full of offensive talent. Carolina will now look to open up cap  space, and reinforce their depth charts, after trading three top prospects and two draft picks for Jake Guentzel at the Trade Deadline.
  • The Boston Bruins are expected to begin talks with Danton Heinen about contract extension soon, shares The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta (Twitter link). Heinen rejoined the Bruins for this season after a three-year tenure split between the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored 17 goals and 36 points in 74 appearances in the reunion, offering flexible offense from the bottom of the depth charts. He’ll be set for his eighth NHL season, and his sixth with the Bruins, with a new deal this summer.

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