For all that has been said and written about Martin Necas, it ultimately seems that the young striker is no longer on the trading market for the moment.
Necas has indeed agreed to terms with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Monday. The Czech signed a two-year deal worth $13 million, or an annual value of $6.5 million.
New Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky added in the statement that Necas “will play a key role in our success.”
This sort of statement is usually commonplace in a press release, but in this case, it is less so, since Necas’ name has been at the heart of many rumors in recent months. The main one: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Columbus Blue Jackets tried to acquire him in the last draft, in a trade that would have involved the Jackets’ first pick, fourth overall.
A few weeks earlier, our colleague Pierre LeBrun had reported that the Canadiens’ general manager, Kent Hughes, had inquired about Necas.
In the meantime, the 25-year-old forward was a restricted free agent and had asked to exercise his right to salary arbitration. The two sides reached an agreement before it got to that point.
Choice of 1er tower (12e overall) in 2017, just ahead of Nick Suzuki, Necas scored 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists) in 77 games last season. The previous season, he exploded with 71 points, including 28 goals.
The new deal makes him the Hurricanes’ third-ranked forward, behind Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. In terms of tenure, however, six established NHL forwards are locked in for the long term, including Jesperi Kotkaniemi, whose deal expires in 2030.
The fact that he signed a two-year, transitional deal, rather than a long-term one, suggests his future in Carolina is still uncertain. For now, the Hurricanes can at least keep a relatively intact offensive core, while on defense, veterans Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce took advantage of their free agency to pack their bags this summer.