Hurricanes likely to hold on to Necas after rumour-filled summer
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It's looking like Martin Necas will remain with the Carolina Hurricanes after all.
Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said Thursday he hasn't closed the door on a potential deal, but it's looking likely the restricted free agent will be staying in Carolina.
"It is a lot easier to make trades before July 1 when teams have flexibility to go pivot and sign other players to replace whatever they gave up than it is after July 1 when their roster is mostly built," Tulsky said, per NHL.com. "We are continuing to talk to teams, and we don't want to miss an opportunity to make the team better, but teams have less flexibility now than they had in June, so it's harder to find a deal now than it was then."
Necas is scheduled for arbitration hearing later this summer, which Tulsky said both sides are hoping to avoid. The general manager said all term options are on the table from a one-year contract to the maximum length of eight years.
Trade rumours have surrounded Necas throughout the off-season as he was reportedly seeking a fresh start elsewhere. The 25-year-old forward is coming off a productive season in which he posted 24 goals and 53 points in 77 games, adding four goals and nine points in 11 playoff games.
The Hurricanes have close to $14 million in cap space after terminating Evgeny Kuznetsov's contract on Thursday, most of which appears headed to Necas and fellow RFA Seth Jarvis.
Tulsky said time still remains for the Hurricanes to tinker with their roster, but the team is probably already set.
"I think we're comfortable with what we have," Tulsky said. "Right now, our focus is on getting our last couple of RFAs signed. We are continuing to talk to teams about trade possibilities and looking at what's left out there. There is time left in the summer, so we are still looking under every rock trying to make the team better.
"But I think the most likely outcome right now is that we have our group unless something surprising comes up."