Martin Necas trade destinations: 11 teams that could (or should) be interested (2024)

Martin Necas has emerged as one of the most exciting offseason trade candidates. According to colleague Pierre LeBrun, nearly every team in the league has called the Carolina Hurricanes to inquire about the dynamic 25-year-old forward.

Here’s a deeper dive into why Necas may be on the trade block, his potential trade value and some of the clubs that could be trade fits.

Why the Hurricanes may move Necas and his next contract

Carolina has a ton of key players on expiring contracts, including Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainan, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Jordan Martinook and Stefan Noesen. Seth Jarvis is also an RFA in line for a massive raise.

With all those other needs, the Canes may not want to pay Necas, an arbitration-eligible RFA coming off a $3 million AAV, a huge contract.

AFP Analytics and Evolving-Hockey both project Necas’ next deal to clock in at approximately a $7.5 million cap hit for seven years. Maybe Necas won’t jump for a maximum contract just yet – the player may want to bet on himself with a one-year contract to up his value, and a team may prefer to see if he can repeat his 2022-23 breakout season first. But even a one-year deal will come with a pay raise – Evolving-Hockey has a $5.8 million cap hit for that term. The risk is that he will only be a year away from unrestricted free agency, which makes the acquisition cost a pretty big gamble if he isn’t going to be a long-term fit. But it’s a way to avoid a huge commitment after a down season if desired.

Necas is also reportedly seeking a change of scenery. It hasn’t been a perfect marriage in Carolina with respect to role, opportunity and stylistic fit.

What does Necas bring to a team?

The tricky part for interested teams is gauging Necas’ true value, especially after he didn’t follow up his breakout 2022-23.

That season. Necas impressed with 28 goals and 71 points across an 82-game season. At five-on-five, he had a primary role in Carolina’s scoring-chance creation with both his shot-making and passing plays. He contributed to Carolina’s forechecking strengths and generated shots off the cycle. But he also added more pop to the top six with his play in transition, thanks to his speedy skating. The trade-off for some of his creative offense and ability to transport the puck can be suspect defense. But that can be something worth betting on for several teams.

Necas’ scoring just wasn’t as potent this season, which could worry some teams considering the cost of acquisition and his next contract. That Necas slid down the lineup and spent more time with the likes of Jack Drury, Michael Bunting and Jesperi Kotkaniemi this season may have something to do with that. While he spent a lot of his minutes with Kotkaniemi last season as well, he also shared the ice more with Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho. Plus, Necas saw less time on the power play this season.

There’s reason to believe he could rebound closer to his 70-point production level with increased opportunity elsewhere. Plus, there may be some untapped potential if he shows he can shift from the wing to his natural position of center, which he hasn’t played a ton of at the NHL level.

What could Necas’ trade value/acquisition cost be?

One way to gauge the ballpark of Necas’ trade value is by seeing what teams have paid in recent history for forwards in their mid-20s with a similar production and contract status (arbitration-eligible restricted free agent). Here are a couple of examples.

Sam Reinhart was in the same situation as a 25-year-old RFA when the Sabres dealt him to the Panthers in the 2021 offseason. Reinhart is a bona fide star now, but back then he had only scored more than 50 points once in his career (65 points in 2018-19) and had never hit the 70-point mark.

If the deal for Necas ends up being futures-oriented, then a first-round pick and a B-grade prospect would seem like the approximate market value.

A futures-oriented deal may not be Carolina’s first preference, though. In that case, the Casey Mittelstadt trade may be a reasonable comparable. Mittelstadt is the same age as Necas, similarly is in line for a significant raise as an RFA and produced 106 points in 144 games over the last two seasons (a 60-point pace).

Bowen Byram, the No. 4 pick in 2022, has star top-pair potential but carried major question marks with his concussion history and was inconsistent in 2023-24. Carolina will likely be looking for a piece with a similarly high upside if they pursue more of a “hockey trade,” though that may be hard to find because many of the teams with potential interest are deeper on picks and prospects than they are expendable young studs.

Who could (or should) be interested?

Since Necas is a younger forward with a lot of upside, he should appeal to a bunch of teams around the league.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens haven’t been shy about making big splashes for young forwards through their rebuild – they traded the No. 13 and No. 66 picks to acquire Kirby Dach in 2022 and shipped out the No. 31 and No. 37 picks to acquire Alex Newhook last offseason.

Montreal’s front office sounded like it could be aggressive this summer to help the club take a step forward next season. There’s no doubt that the Habs, with only three forwards hitting the 40-point mark in 2023-24, could use more offensive firepower. Necas would check that box while still being young enough to fit with the future forward core of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský.

The Canadiens are overflowing with draft picks (four first-round picks over the next two years) and defense prospects, so they definitely could assemble an enticing futures-oriented package. If the Canes require immediate, win-now pieces, though, that would make a deal much tougher to swing for Montreal.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks only had one winger (Brock Boeser) who eclipsed 50 points this season. They were forced to keep deploying Ilya Mikheyev, who had one goal in his last 61 games between the regular season and playoffs, on Elias Pettersson’s line.

Necas’ dynamic, puck-rushing skill set would inject some much-needed speed, creativity and offensive play-driving into Vancouver’s top six. The Canucks can afford to allocate big cap dollars to one marquee forward while still having enough flexibility to address other roster needs, so Necas’ next contract shouldn’t be prohibitive.

Acquisition cost is where things could get tricky. Vancouver is without its first- and second-round picks this year, meaning it’d have to dip into the 2025 pool if it’s a futures-oriented deal. Nils Höglander, 23, scored 24 five-on-five goals at a steal of a $1.1 million cap hit. Would he be intriguing to the Canes as one of the pieces in a package?

Nashville Predators

The Predators have approximately $26.3 million in cap flexibility, a ton of expendable trade chips (12 combined draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 and 2025 drafts and the No. 8 ranked prospect pool in the NHL) and a clear need for additional scoring beyond their strong top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist.

On top of that, GM Barry Trotz hinted during his end-of-season availability that he could pursue bold moves.

One of many takeaways from Trotz today: he used the word “acquire” a lot. Talked about a hybrid style of drafting and developing but being really aggressive in free agency and trade. Don’t be surprised if he tries to pull a big trade this offseason

More tomorrow on @1025TheGame

— Robby Stanley (@RStanleyNHL) May 8, 2024

Necas would provide instant scoring help while being young enough to fit with Nashville’s core long-term. It’s tough to predict what the Canes would be eyeing from the Preds (we’d ask for Luke Evangelista, though it’s hard to see why Nashville would do that), but they certainly have an abundance of future assets to dip into.

Calgary Flames

Whether you call it a retool or rebuild, it seems clear that the Calgary Flames aren’t going to blow their roster into smithereens and tank. It doesn’t seem feasible, with massive long-term contracts like Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar on the books.

That means the Flames likely will explore opportunities to acquire young players who can help right away, while still being part of the club’s next core. Kadri was Calgary’s only forward to clear 60 points in 2023-24 – they could really use dynamic offensive creators with legitimate top-line potential, such as Necas.

If the Flames believe Necas has untapped, star-level upside, this could be a bet worth making, especially with the plum ice time and opportunity they could give him. On the other hand, if they think he has a lower ceiling, as more of a second-line producer in the 50-to-60 point range, then it’s probably too early in the Flames’ cycle for them to surrender quality future assets.

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit took strides this past season and was in the playoff race until the very end. But ultimately, they fell short — which sent Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings management back to the drawing board to devise their next steps.

Last summer, management added Alex DeBrincat. Maybe Necas could be this summer’s target to add even more jump to the forward group — especially if both David Perron and Patrick Kane walk as free agents. Even if the two veterans stay, there is room for another winger on the younger side, considering that Detroit finished in the bottom five in expected goal creation this season at five-on-five.

The Red Wings are stocked with draft picks, prospects and cap space right now. How much cap space is left to go around depends on how the Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider extensions are handled. But until that cap room dries up, any time a forward in their early-to-mid-20s becomes available, Detroit should be kicking the tires on them.

New York Rangers

The Rangers went on a run to the Eastern Conference final, but there’s still work to be done in New York. The most pressing need likely revolves around their even-strength scoring — especially on the right side of the lineup.

Alexis Lafrenière’s shift to the right side, and his breakout season, has solidified one position, but Mika Zibanejad’s line is still incomplete. Kaapo Kakko didn’t progress enough to stay there this year and Jack Roslovic underwhelmed as well.

That’s where someone such as Necas could come into the picture.

The Rangers don’t have many mid-round picks over the next three years, but they have their next three first-rounders. New York has a few prospects who could interest the Canes, and so could Kakko, who could be a fit for a “change of scenery” trade after being extended for one year this week. The Rangers just wouldn’t be able to afford a big contract off the bat without making some cuts.

Utah Hockey Club

Utah could be the biggest wild-card team to watch this summer.

They have the cap space ($43 million) and a rich reserve of assets (a deep prospect pool and excess draft picks, including 10 second-rounders over the next three drafts) to make some huge splashes. Utah also has a decent foundation, with the likes of Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, Sean Durzi and Matias Maccelli, so they team is ready to take the next step to improve the roster and start becoming competitive.

Necas could play wing or even earn an opportunity at center, considering that Barrett Hayton has been given many chances to center the top line over the last two seasons.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs have a long checklist this summer, and secondary scoring should be pretty high on it. That’s what makes Necas an intriguing name for them.

If Necas can shake it down the middle at this level, it could shift John Tavares to wing to free him up a bit more offensively. Plus, his presence could give them another option at 3C, if the new-look coaching staff wants to spread out the scoring better throughout the top nine.

The big question for the Leafs is just how big management is trying to go this offseason. If that ultimately means moving on from Mitch Marner, then there’s a right-wing opening in the top six to replenish as well.

Toronto has some cap to work with, but a number of roster positions to fill. So whether they can swing a Necas deal may depend on what assets the team gets back in any other moves made to change the makeup of this roster.

Anaheim Ducks

​​General manager Pat Verbeek was upfront about two key needs for the Ducks when their season ended. One was a top-six right-shooting forward.

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek in a season-ending media session says the team is pursuing both a top-six right shot forward and a top-four right shot defenseman this offseason.

More from PV later…#FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/cFQeDZov8u

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 23, 2024

While Anaheim can turn to the free-agent market to find that, the trade market is likely a more favorable route. Most free agents will be past their prime when the Ducks are ready to contend again. So, management should be shooting for a younger option, such as Necas, via trade. The Ducks have draft picks, prospects, and cap space at their disposal for a trade like this.

Necas should be a fit on a Greg Cronin-led squad that is filled with up-and-coming talent. Necas’ ability to slot at center or wing would add some versatility to this group and give the coaches more deployment options to experiment with between Leo Carlsson, Troy Terry, Mason MacTavish, Trevor Zegras and Cutter Gauthier.

St. Louis Blues

After a quiet trade deadline, the Blues are stuck in limbo. Management has to decide what path to take: a full rebuild, a retool around some of their young forwards or more of the same.

Since management opted against tearing this team down at the deadline, and there are some immovable assets in their way, a retool may be the plan moving forward. Adding a high-end forward such as Necas, who can contribute to the team now and in the future, may help accomplish that.

St. Louis may be able to swing a deal with prospects and draft picks. But there is one potential trade asset that could intrigue Carolina: Pavel Buchnevich. The big question is whether the Blues want to move him, and if so, when — this summer or next deadline? Obviously, the best version of the Blues would have both Buchnevich and Necas in the top six. But realistically, the team may feel that the younger forward would help them in the long term.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets may be on the cusp of losing major scoring power, with Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan eligible for free agency, plus Nikolaj Ehlers emergingas a likely trade candidate as he enters the final year of his contract.

Acquiring Necas could be a way of replacing that potential exodus of forward talent.

Winnipeg will have the requisite cap space and could flip the assets acquired in a potential Ehlers trade toward a Necas move. Maybe the Canes themselves could be interested in Ehlers, although the Jets would presumably need to add a bit on top because Ehlers is a UFA at the end of next season.

Carolina could also inquire about Cole Perfetti, the talented No. 10 pick from 2020, who had 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games but has been a healthy scratch for all but one playoff game over the last two years, although Winnipeg could be reluctant to give him away.

(Photo of Martin Necas: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)