It is finally over — the Martin Necas summer saga has officially come to an end. Monday, July 29 saw the end of the ongoing news story surrounding the Czechian forward and the Carolina Hurricanes after the team announced they extended him to a two-year deal. The extension will have both parties avoid arbitration that was scheduled for Aug. 4 after Necas was given a qualifying offer back on the first day of free agency (July 1). After all of the “Will they trade him?” or “Are they going to keep him?” speculation, we finally got our answer. What does the two-year extension look like after the dust finally settles in Raleigh?
Necas Is Staying in Raleighwood
The Hurricanes inked Necas — who they drafted 12th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft — to a two-year, $13 million deal that will run through the 2025-26 season. Necas’ new contract will take him to unrestricted free agent status and he will be 27 when the deal expires. His annual average value (AAV) went from $3 million from his previous three-year deal to $6.5 million for the next two seasons. He wanted a pay raise and the Hurricanes gave it to him.
When asked about the Necas extension, general manager Eric Tulsky stated, “Martin is an immensely skilled player who provides a scoring threat whenever the puck is on his stick. He will play a key role in the continued success of our franchise, and we’re excited to have a multi-year contract done.”
Necas does have a natural gift when it comes to stick handling — he is one of those guys who can stick handle in a London phone booth with ease. Plus, his speed is next level. His a $3.5 million pay raise will come with a certain level of increased expectations.
It is now on Necas to perform in another prove-it deal. He needs to be the 71-point player who led the team in scoring for the 2022-23 season and not the low 40-point player he was earlier in his career. To give him credit, he did finish with 24 goals and 53 points in 77 games during the 2023-24 season after missing time due to a lower-body injury. That being said, he needs to find his game where he was putting up 70-plus points. What contributed to the decrease in points from 2022-23 to 2023-24, other than the injury, was that he saw his ice time drop from 18:25 to 17:21. Furthermore, he went from being on the top power play unit to the second group. The idea was to split him and Sebastian Aho apart since they were both capable of entering the zone with speed. In doing so, they were hoping to balance out the power play units, and it did work in the end with the team finishing in the top five in the NHL.
It will be interesting to see how head coach Rod Brind’Amour will utilize Necas for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Necas, in the past, has stated privately that he wants to play center since that was his position before coming to the NHL. However, he has shown he does not fit the role as Brind’Amour’s system requires regarding a two-day defensive-minded center. Along with his 41.5 percent faceoff winning percentage, he does not play strong enough defensively to be deployed as a center; he is better suited as a winger.
He could see an uptick in ice time and may be placed back on the top power play unit but given a different role as the zone-entry guy. It is not clear how that will go, but there has to be a notion of Necas being used in a different capacity than he was last season. It is a foregone conclusion he will be in the top six, probably on the second line and a lot in overtime.
What’s Next for the Hurricanes?
While the Necas deal is now out of the way, there is more for the Hurricanes to do. The only restricted free agent left to sign is forward Seth Jarvis. He is the only player left to be signed before the Dec. 1 deadline (when it comes to guys who got a qualifying offer but who aren’t arbitration-eligible.) There is no doubt that it will get done, and the hope is to get it done sooner than later especially with the team having $6.44 million left in cap space. Tulsky and the front office are doing all they can to get the deal done, and Jarvis has expressed that he wants to stay. It just comes down to them agreeing on the term and the amount per season. There is no need to panic; it will get done.
