Carolina Hurricanes: Previewing the 2022 Offseason

Necas, who has collected 5 points in his last 6 games (3G, 2A) is one of the Hurricanes’ most notable players and a massive part of their young core. Accumulating 114 points in just 189 games in the league, there’s no doubting that keeping Necas as a member of the Hurricanes is a top priority for both owner Tom Dundon and general manager Don Waddell.

The issue here is (as always) money. According to CapFriendly, the Hurricanes have a projected $20,250,583 in cap space going into the offseason, which quite frankly isn’t much when you factor in all the big contracts that are expiring. Necas is a fast, dominant center when he’s in his groove, who uses his skating abilities to seamlessly weave through the defense of the opposition, making him an excellent piece to Carolina’s already strong offensive core.

Undoubtedly, Necas is a player the Hurricanes NEED to prioritize re-signing. I don’t see an 8-year deal as something that would be in the cards for Necas, though he is a young talent, which as we all know by now, is something that Waddell prefers. Both Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi received 8-year deals during this season, so I’m not too confident Waddell would be willing to add another one, especially with the other expiring contracts. I could see somewhere in the 5-year range, but only time will tell.

It’s also worth noting that Necas is an RFA this offseason, so there is the slight possibility that a team may decide to offer-sheet him (don’t even think about it, Montreal), but with how things went with Aho and Kotkaniemi, I doubt any teams want to test Dundon at this point. It’s sure to be quite an eventful summer for the Hurricanes in regards to the Necas situation, but I can say with complete confidence that Necas is going to return to the Hurricanes under some form of a deal.