Martin Nečas Signs 2 Year Extension To Stay With Carolina Hurricanes

By AIDAN JENSEN

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With a young, talented roster that consistently gets them into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have recently proven the NHL Draft is an effective way to build a competitive roster.

Previous draftees currently on the Canes include Frederik Anderson (2010), Sebastian Aho (2015), Martin Nečas (2017), Andrei Svechnikov and Jack Drury (2018), Pyotr Kochetkov (2019), Seth Jarvis (2020), defenseman Scott Morrow and winger Jackson Blake (2021), plus Bradly Nadeau (2023).

Carolina has made the playoffs every season since 2018-2019, when former star player Rod Brind’Amour took over as head coach. The Canes won a series in each of the past six campaigns, including runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019 and 2023, but have yet to make the Stanley Cup Final again.

Carolina saw some major roster turnover earlier this offseason, losing the likes of 2024 playoff star Jake Guenztel, plus the longtime defenseman pairing of Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei. The Canes did re-sign top defenseman Jaccob Slavin to an 8-year deal and add some other valuable roster pieces, though, trying to replace the valuable pieces they lost.

Carolina also re-signed another major piece of its past success on Monday, July 29, inking Nečas to a 2-year, $13-million deal.

“Martin is an immensely skilled player who provides a scoring threat whenever the puck is on his stick,” Canes general Manager Eric Tulsky said in an article on the team’s homepage. “He will play a key role in the continued success of our franchise, and we’re excited to have a multi-year contract done.”

Since his 12th overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft, Nečas has done nothing but impress. He spent most of his 2018-2019 campaign on the Charlotte Checkers, formerly the Canes’ AHL affiliate, scoring 16 goals and dishing out 32 assists. Nečas played seven games in Raleigh that season, scoring another goal and recording one assist.

Nečas joined Carolina full-time during the COVID-altered 2019-2020 campaign, scoring a minimum 14 goals and dishing out a minimum 20 assists in each year since. Nečas’ best season came during the 2023 ECF run, when he scored 28 goals and assisted on 43 more. With the number of departures earlier this month, look for Nečas to continue proving himself – but this time with a larger role.