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There is interest across the NHL in trading for pending restricted free agent Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes. That’s hardly a secret, and the Montreal Canadiens are one of the teams showing interest.
The “bad blood” between the Habs and the Canes, however, could bring an early end to those trade rumors. According to former player and current Toronto Star columnist Nick Kypreos, that could be the case.
“Many clubs are calling the Carolina Hurricanes to inquire about trading for forward Martin Necas, including the Montreal Canadiens,” Kypreos wrote on June 6.
“As much as the Habs love the player, there seems to be zero chance of a trade with Montreal considering the bad blood over the Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet in 2021,” Kypreos wrote.
Necas completed a two-year, $3 million deal and will enter restricted free agency on July 1. In turn, any team that extends an offer sheet to him can be matched by the Hurricanes to keep him in tow.
Kypreos believes the 2021 offer sheet saga involving Jesperi Kotkaniemi and both franchises remains a significant barrier. So much so, that Kypreos thinks there is “zero chance” for any trade between the Canadiens and the Hurricanes to go through.
2021 Canadiens vs. Hurricanes Offer Sheet Drama
In 2021, the Hurricanes extended an offer sheet for then-Canadiens player Jesperi Kotkaniemi, which he signed. The offer was valued at $6.1 million over one season.
The consensus opinion about the Canes’ move was that it happened in retaliation for the initial offer sheet extended by the Canadiens to former Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho in 2019.
Contrary to what happened with Kotkaniemi, who ended up in Carolina, the Canes followed that offer sheet and matched it, thus retaining Aho.
Shortly after announcing the offer sheet extended to Kotkaniemi, the Hurricanes published another message mocking the Habs.
The two transactions described above strained the relationship between the two clubs and affected both teams’ salary caps. The Canadiens, however, benefited from losing Kotkaniemi because the offer sheet awarded them a first and third-round pick.
According to NHL Trade Tracker, the Canadiens and the Hurricanes have only completed one trade since the end of the 2016-17 season. The Habs sent a fifth-round pick to Carolina in exchange for Joel Edmundson in September 2020.
Canadiens Seek Offensive Talent, Target Martin Necas
Canadiens GM Kent Hughes told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on June 3 about the franchise’s plans for the upcoming draft free agency.
“If we can get a player, if we can trade up in the draft, we have to look at any way that we can improve this team,” Hughes said. “We won’t be limited to something that has to make us better next season. But if it does, call that icing on the cake.”
Necas scored 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games in 2024. After that, he scored 7 points in 5 games during the World Championship, winning the gold with the Czech Republic.
The forward’s future with the Hurricanes is uncertain and LeBrun thinks he is “likely moving this summer” and leaving Carolina for good.
In an interview with Denik Sport via @RonoAnalyst, Necas’ father revealed his son’s desire to be traded, citing a need for a more prominent role in the lineup.
Moreover, Necas has been non-committal about his future in Carolina. He indicated after the playoffs that he is letting his agent handle his potential exit and not worrying about it.
“We’ll see what’s going to happen,” Necas said on May 27, via NHL.com. “I don’t really care right now. What’s going to happen is going to happen. My agent is going to deal with that. We’re going to figure it out.”
Evolving-Hockey projects that Necas will get a contract worth $70-plus million over 8 years. The Canadiens enter the offseason with a projected cap space of $9.4 million (per PuckPedia).
PuckPedia gives Carolina approximately $29.2 million in projected cap space. However, the Canes only have 18 players under contract next season. Consequently, trading Necas is an enticing way of opening cap room to re-sign other high-level pending free agents.
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