Friedman: ‘I do think it’s likely’ Martin Necas is traded, Canucks could re-engage in talks

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman talked at length about what the future could hold for Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas on Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts – The Podcast.

Necas, 25, is set to become a restricted free agent and is due a significant raise over his current $3 million cap hit. The Czech forward collected 24 goals and 53 points in 77 games with the Hurricanes during the 2023-24 season and added four goals and nine points in 11 playoff contests.

As Friedman noted, Necas and the Hurricanes haven’t always seen eye-to-eye and the club could look to prioritize re-signing pending UFAs Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teravainen over the 2017 first-round pick.

“Necas’ dad went out in a Czech interview and basically said, ‘Yeah, it’s time,’ which is something that I think a few people have suspected for a while,” Friedman said. “I do think it’s likely he gets moved. I just think that him and the Hurricanes don’t see each other in the same value, but we’ll see how it all works out.

“I think there’s a lot of teams that are going to be looking at Necas and trying to find out what he wants. He’s a good player and Carolina’s going to have some options here.”

Friedman also mentioned that the Canucks discussed Necas with the Hurricanes during the brief period of time last season when Elias Pettersson was on the trade block.

Pettersson eventually signed an eight-year extension with the Canucks, but had he gone to Carolina as rumoured, there’s a strong possibility Necas would’ve come to Vancouver.

“Jeff, one more thing about Necas,” Friedman said. “Do you remember when all that Pettersson drama hit, about whether he was going to sign and not sign, and Vancouver talked with Carolina? Necas was in that deal. Pettersson, in our interview with him, said he never thought he was gonna get dealt, but Necas was in that deal. I just wonder if there’s something there still.

“If Necas is going to be moved — and it’s not for Pettersson, obviously, let’s not go down that road, it’s not for Pettersson. But I wonder if there’s a Necas deal to be made there with Vancouver. Like, Carolina’s got a lot of D that they need to sign, what if they look at someone like Hronek as making more sense for them? That’s the kind of thing I’m wondering about now.”

The Hurricanes originally selected Necas with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Through 362 career games over parts of seven seasons with the Hurricanes, Necas has collected 97 goals and 243 points.