The Carolina Hurricanes gambled when they signed RFA Martin Necas to a two-year deal. Necas has lit up the NHL since then. Should they have signed him for longer?
The Carolina Hurricanes gambled when they signed RFA Martin Necas to a two-year deal. Necas has lit up the NHL since then. Should they have signed him for longer?
Last off-season, the Carolina Hurricanes had a tough decision to make with young right winger and then-RFA Martin Necas.
With Necas being used up and down the lineup and seeing his scoring drop, the options were to trade him, opt for a bridge deal or go with a long-term contract that locks him up for six to eight years.
Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky eventually gave Necas a two-year bridge deal at $6.5 million per season. Since then, the 25-year-old has been burning up the NHL, posting 14 goals and 43 points in 28 games.
Necas has been a massive bargain at that salary, but guess what? He will also be in line for an absolutely massive raise in 2026-27.
The Dallas Stars had a similar issue with star left winger Jason Robertson in 2022. Robertson was coming off the final year of his entry-level contract—a season in which he scored 41 goals and 79 points. Rather than a two-year deal that mirrored what Carolina has done with Necas, the Stars gave him four years at $7.75 million.
Now, Robertson is still going to rake in big bucks when he becomes an RFA in 2026, but the bump up in pay isn't going to be nearly as large as Necas' will likely be when his current contract expires. And here's the bigger problem – Necas won't be an RFA in 2026, either. He'll be a UFA. That makes Carolina's efforts to keep him in the fold significantly more difficult than Dallas will be as they try to keep Robertson happy.
If Tulsky and the Hurricanes offered Necas a couple of more seasons at, say, the same amount of money that Robertson got, that payday suddenly would be seen as a massive bargain in money and in term.
Instead, the Hurricanes must deal with the prospect that Necas may leave the organization in 2026. There's still a chance the Hurricanes can sign him to a long-term extension, but what will the number be then if he keeps up this scoring? It could be $9 million or more. Other teams have offered more for less production than Necas has provided this season, so Necas' agent is gathering evidence to ratchet up his asking price to much more than he's earning this year.
The balancing act of paying young players appropriately always has a tinge of danger to it. Offer a youngster too much money, and you're saddled with a dead contract that you'll never be able to unload on another team. Offer them not enough money, and you're in danger of souring the player on staying with the team over the long term. It's hard to hit a home run in pay and in term, and right now, the Hurricanes look to only have hit a home run in pay with Necas.
We shall see what Tulsky's next move with Necas soon enough. There are now under two years left on Necas' contract, and before you know it, his UFA status will be right around the corner.
Tulsky and the Hurricanes gambled on Necas when they gave him a two-year deal. And it looks like Necas has gambled on himself, and he's winning in a major way. Things can always change in the team's favor, of course, but they also can change in Necas' favor. We'll be keeping our eyes on Necas' development – and you'd better believe many other NHL teams will be doing the same, with the focus on making Necas an ex-Hurricane sooner than later.
Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.