Martin Necas Leading Way For Hurricanes In Pivotal Season

When the final horn sounded on May 16, signaling the end of the Carolina Hurricanes' 2023-24 season, many questions began to circulate.

The Canes had had perhaps their most talented roster ever assembled on paper, yet once again, they had come up short of their ultimate goal.

Along with that, Carolina had a lot of decisions to make as several key players had been playing on expiring deals.

One of those players was Martin Necas.

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Watch any of his highlight packages and the 2017 first-round pick looks like a sure-fire priority signing.

He's one of the fastest skaters in the league, with tremendous edgework and a bomb of a shot to boot.

His offensive instincts pop on the ice and he's one of those players who can create with very little space.

But it wasn't that simple for the Hurricanes due to the Czech forward's fifth NHL season being an overall step back.

Necas saw his production drop by nearly 20 points, he lost his spot on the team's first power play unit and after 77 games, he had led the team in even-strength goals against while he was on the ice by a significant margin.

Not only that, but as soon as the season ended, Necas had immediately caught a flight out to Czechia for the World Championships, skipping exit interviews with local media.

Then a few days later, an interview with Necas' dad came out which seemed to imply his son was unhappy with his role/deployment in Carolina and that he would welcome a trade out.

Related: Is Martin Necas' Time in Carolina Coming to a Close?

It felt almost assured at that point that Necas, who went on to win Gold with Team Czechia in those World Championships, wasn't going to be back.

Every few weeks, a new rumor would pop up and it was also reported that Necas even rejected at least two trades, stating that he refused to sign an extension in either Columbus or Winnipeg.

But as more time passed and so too did the trade deadline, things seemed to tilt until new general manager finally got the deal done: a two-year, $13 million extension.

While most of the fanbase will probably claim the opposite, Necas said that the contract situation didn't really stress him out too much.

"I knew that I was going to get a contract so it wasn't so stressful," Necas said. "It would be different if I was a free agent and nobody wanted me. Obviously it was maybe a little stressful the way it was going as it seemed like we might go to [arbitration] or something, but we figured it out and I'm super happy to stay in this room for two more years and hopefully more."

"It ended up good," Necas said. "I'm happy with it and so is the team. I'm not really thinking too much ahead, just taking it step by step. It's good to be back."

Heading into this season, it was obvious that the Canes were going to need their young core to take big steps forward if they wanted to avoid taking a step back.

Losing players like Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teravainen left not only big holes on the roster, but on the stat sheet too.

"It all depends on how you evaluate the next level," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Like I don't think [Necas] is going to get much more skilled and I don't think that he's going to get faster, but can he contribute more? He's going to have to because we're going to rely on him more. I think that's the difference this year than maybe in the past because we had a lot of options in that role and this year we have less. We'll have to rely on him more which should be good for him."

So what exactly were the expectations for Necas? According to Brind'Amour, they aren't any different this year than in the past, but it's more so the fact that the team can't turn to anyone else. He has to be one of the best players on the ice night in and night out.

"I don't really know if there's a bigger role," Brind'Amour said. "We expect him to be one of our best players and we have for many years. We're just now going to count on him more. I think that's the difference. It's not playing a bigger role, I think it's just naturally going to happen just based on the fact we don't have the depth in those positions that we had."

And Necas' expectations for himself?

"[I want to be] more of a leader. I'm not at the age anymore that... I mean, I'm still pretty young, but not what it used to be. I feel like I have some experience now and I've been with this group for a long time. We still have a tight core together and I feel like we can do some special things. I feel like I can step up more and help this team."

And what a step he's taken.

In 11 games, Necas leads the team in goals (7), game-winning goals (3) and points (20) and currently sits second in the entire NHL in points per game (1.82).

In addition, since the Hurricanes' seven-game win streak started, the speedy winger has a point in every game and is currently riding a four-game goal streak and a four-game multi-point streak, all of which are career highs.

"Neci is a dangerous player out there," said teammate and close friend Andrei Svechnikov. "Whenever he's on the ice, he's always going to have his chances and you're always going to have those opportunities with him. He's a fast player and in the neutral zone, you're always looking for him and try to pass it him. He's always going to get into the zone. Just a dangerous player."

Necas has long possessed one of the most talented skillsets in the NHL, but the consistency just wasn't always there.

But now, as he's continuing to elevate his game every night for the Hurricanes, he's proving that he belongs among the game's biggest and brightest stars.