Martin Necas is one of the biggest-name restricted free agents still out there on the market. The 2017 No. 12 overall pick had a disappointing year in 2021-22, but in 2020-21 had the makings of a future star, scoring 41 points in 53 games, a 63-point pace. Necas didn’t have the game-by-game impact many expected him to have last year, though, and he was supplanted in the Hurricanes’ forward pecking order by fast-rising rookie Seth Jarvis. He needs a new contract, and despite many speculating that he may need a change of scenery, Hurricanes GM Don Waddell remains focused on ironing out an extension.
Per Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, Waddell is nearing that goal. Waddell is quoted as saying that the team and Necas’ camp are negotiating on an “almost a daily basis” and that a deal is “getting close.” Waddell even takes it a step further, saying definitively that “it’s going to get done.” Despite a disappointing most recent season, it’s in the best interest for the Hurricanes to get Necas locked into an extension. While he’s mostly played as a winger in the NHL, Necas has prior experience as a center and could be in a position to seize a top-six center spot should Jesperi Kotkaniemi struggle in that role.
Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:
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