The Carolina Hurricanes are going to be a very busy team this off-season. One player who has garnered a ton of attention in the past few weeks is Martin Necas. The Hurricanes forward will reportedly be traded in the summer.
As Seth Jarvis continues to blossom into an exceptional player for the Hurricanes, Necas has found his opportunities decrease. His power play time per game has dropped from 3:03 in 2022–23 to 2:07 in 2023–24. His time-on-ice (TOI) per game has gone down from 18:24 in 2022–23 to 17:21 in 2023–24. It is important to note that 17:21 in 2023–24 was still fourth-highest among Hurricanes forwards, but that is a decrease from Necas being second highest among Canes forwards in 2022–23.
Given that Necas is below Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov on the RW depth chart and has played on PP2, it is no surprise that he would prefer a change of scenery:
TSN and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun did note that the Flames and the Montreal Canadiens are two teams believed to be interested in Necas.
Martin Necas’ career so far
| Player | Position | Age | Height | Weight | Draft Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Necas | RW | 25 | 6’2″ | 198 lbs | 12th overall, 2017 |
Necas finished the 2023–24 season with 24 goals and 53 points in 73 games. He also had four goals and nine points in 11 games during the Hurricanes’ playoff run, which ended at the hands of the New York Rangers. The 2023–24 season marked the fifth full season of Necas’ career. He has 97 goals and 243 points in 362 regular season games to his name. His career high came in 2022–23 when he potted 28 goals and 71 points in 82 games.
After the Hurricanes playoff run finished, Necas went overseas to play for the Czech team at the World Championships. The Czechs won the gold medal on their home turf. Necas had one goal and seven points in five games.
A deeper look into Necas’ game
The first thing that stands out in Necas’ game is his speed. According to NHL EDGE, Necas fell into the 97th percentile for Top Skating Speed and the 99th percentile for Speed Bursts Over 32 kph in 2023–24.
Next, let’s take a look at Necas’ Isolated 5v5 Impact courtesy of HockeyViz.com. As you can see, Necas has developed into a positive offensive driver over the last two seasons, particularly in 2023–24. His defensive game is not a strong suit. He was very close to being a positive defensive contributor in 2022–23 but fell back to being a below-average defensive player in 2023–24. He is someone to whom you give high offensive zone starts.
Necas’ contract situation
Necas just finished the final year of a two-year, 3M AAV contract. With more leverage this go-around and much-increased point production, Necas is likely in line for more than double his current 3M AAV. At the age of 25, he is likely to get a long-term deal as well. The biggest thing in play for Necas is that he is arbitration-eligible this summer. If he does not get the deal he desires, he could take a one-year offer and walk straight to free agency.
Verdict
Necas is an interesting target, given his age, right shot, and speed. With the Flames’ lack of right-shot players, need for speed, and getting younger players added into the organization, Necas checks a lot of boxes. However, with arbitration and the potential deal he is likely to get, it might not be worth it. I also don’t believe Calgary should be giving up any future prospects/picks, and I doubt Carolina would have interest in any of Calgary’s roster players. Maybe Yegor Sharangovich? In any case, I don’t think Necas will be worth the assets and contract required, given the Flames’ current position. Does adding Necas make the Flames a playoff team? Probably not.
If the Flames view him similarly to a Sharangovich, in which they believe he’ll pop if given more opportunity, maybe they pull the trigger. Necas still has a high TOI for the Hurricanes every game despite dropping to the third line and second PP unit. Necas was included in the Hurricanes’ trade offer (along with a first-round pick) for Matthew Tkachuk a few years ago, so the Flames do have previous interest in the Czech forward.
Photo from NHL.com
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