Martin Necas
This is the most recent of the three to become an option. At his end-of-year media interview, Martin Necas voiced his desire to move back to his natural position in the middle of the ice. While that might not have been an option before, it may be now. We’ve seen players in Raleigh start their NHL career as wingers and find great success down the middle, but can Necas take that same path successfully?
Coming off the back of his worst ever season in the NHL, there has been a select minority of the fanbase calling for Martin Necas to be moved on. While I do believe this is a drastic overreaction, I do think that Necas will need to find a way to improve his game ahead of next season if he is going to find himself playing the position he has asked to.
Pierre LeBrun has recently stated that the Hurricanes are receiving a lot of calls about the availability of the Czech forward so we know that there is a lot of value in the young 2017 12th overall pick. Just the sheer fact competitors think they can get value out of Martin Necas should tell you everything you need to know about how talented this player is.
With the restricted free agent wanting to move back to the middle due to the position feeling more natural for him, you have to wonder if it is indeed possible for the Hurricanes to attempt to facilitate a move back to his natural center position. It is a possibility that could very well be at the forefront of the Hurricanes’ minds when addressing their needs down the middle this summer.