The rumor is getting more and more excited…
Some informed and influential observers of the National Hockey League scene add their two cents…
If it’s true that there is smoke without fire, Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes have reportedly identified Hurricanes forward Martin Necas as their preferred target for a structuring transaction to be completed on the sidelines. the next amateur selection session at the end of June.
Necas in 2024, like Alex Newhook in 2023, like Kirby Dach in 2022…
Necas, 6-foot-2 right-handed center who can also be used on the wing, elegant and powerful skater, fast and efficient. Not the sandiest paper in the box, but not the softest either.
He accepts checks, never takes anyone off the ice in return, but plays with character and never hesitates to separate an opponent from the puck.
Precisely, the puck, it is thanks to it that we find the most beautiful quality of Necas in my opinion: he takes jealous care of the disc, controls it with ease, he is an artist in puck possession.
He’s the antipode of the guy who rejects at the back of the territory and skates to recover what he had on his stick palette in the neutral zone.
This quality seems crucial to me when I think of Martin St-Louis and his concepts.
Martin likes his attackers to enter offensive territory in possession of the puck in order to better orchestrate an attack towards the enemy net.
In other words, Necas, if he really is a favorite target for the firm “Gorton & Hughes & associates”, has excellent reasons to be.
In my opinion, he is much superior to Alex Newhook and I assume that the fit with Kirby Dach would be perfect, especially since if Dach were to not play all the matches next season, Necas would become a police force. high-level insurance to make up for the absence of the young center so far, either very fragile, very unlucky, or a bit of both, to be continued…
Now, what will Necas cost in a transaction? Difficult to evaluate correctly. He is a restricted free agent, he does not have much negotiating power at the moment.
He has just scored 24 goals out of 53 points in 77 games, a significant decline compared to his previous season where he established personal standards with 71 points, including 28 goals in 82 games.
A concern
The big obstacle that seems to arise is those around him. It’s never very good when a “pôpa” enters the conversation and starts to sue a National League organization for which his son plays.
At the same time, at this level, the leaders have nothing to say about the moods of the man in the Czech Republic. But no one is insensitive. When you want to make such an important acquisition, and then consider spending a lot of money on it over several seasons, you certainly pay attention to all the little details.
Which brings me back to the price of getting Necas. I think the Hurricanes definitely want an established active National League player. I think they want a high draft pick too.
Their need, in my opinion, is probably more in defense than in attack, and more on the left side than the right side…
There I know that you see me coming and that you don’t like it. But unless the CH agrees to get rid of Kaiden Guhle, which would be a terrible mistake in my opinion, the price to pay to get their hands on Martin Necas is likely to be Arber Xhekaj.
And please, don’t say that Jordan Harris will do for the Canes, that’s not true!
Harris is here to stay, he represents superb cheap third-pair value in Gorton & Hughes’ projected organizational chart and projected salary cap.
In my opinion, there is no doubt that it will be Necas for Xhekaj like it was Romanov for Dach two years ago. Xhekaj and a draft choice, ideally the first from CH in the second round, but I would not at all be thrown to the ground if it was the famous first choice the Jets obtained in the Sean Monahan transaction.
I know it hurts, I’m a supporter of Xhekaj, the Canadian has no others like him, but you can’t have everything without paying anything in return…
And honestly, to get your hands on an elegant and productive large-format striker, a guaranteed top six like Necas, paying Xhekaj and a choice between 26th and 37th, the risk is calculated very well in my opinion.
