By Kalisha Turnipseed -
Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin’s looking to add size to his top-six behind Joel Eriksson Ek. Targeting Mitch Marner would offer game-breaking skill, but wouldn't add that coveted size to the mix. Someone who would is forward Martin Necas, an RFA that the Carolina Hurricanes may rather move than pay this summer. If Necas becomes available, Guerin should look to add him on the second line as he continues to build around Kirill Kaprizov.
The New York Rangers are on the verge of eliminating the Stanley Cup-contending Hurricanes from the playoffs, but Necas has produced 8 points (3 goals and 5 assists) in 10 games. Necas can reliably produce secondary scoring that the Wild lacked last year. Necas, who had 24 goals, 53 points in 77 regular-season games, is only 25-years-old and entering his prime years. He scored 28 goals and 71 points in 2022-23, and it’s reasonable to believe he can produce more 70-plus-point seasons, depending on who plays alongside him.
Guerin reportedly may want to replace Marco Rossi down the middle with a bigger center, and Necas fits the description. Necas' contract is up, and Evolving-Hockey projects a contract coming off a sign-and-trade situation to be seven years with a cap hit of around $7.5 million. The Wild will almost definitely need to clear out cap space, in addition to trading Rossi, to make a such a deal happen.
Minnesota could use the Necas trade to part ways with Jared Spurgeon, 34, who has a modified no-trade clause. Spurgeon carries a $7.575 million cap hit, fits the analytically-minded Hurricanes' profile, and the Hurricanes have many expiring defenders. If Spurgeon doesn't have Carolina on his no-trade list, or is willing to waive it to join a Cup contender, this could be a natural fit.
It's possible Spurgeon (with no salary retention) and Rossi alone won’t get Carolina to move Necas, with Spurgeon being injury-prone and on the wrong side of 30. If that's the case, the Wild have options to continue to sweeten the pot for the Hurricanes with young defensive help.
The Wild could add in Daemon Hunt, for example. The soon-to-be-22-year-old defenseman is NHL-ready but hasn’t gotten much ice time here. Hunt is ready to contribute to an NHL lineup as a shutdown defenseman and penalty killer. The Hurricanes should be intrigued by Hunt. Dmitry Orlov and Jaccob Slavin are the two left-handed defenders they have signed. Hunt fits nicely on their third pairing. If not Hunt, there's Carson Lambos, Jack Peart, Kyle Masters, David Spacek, and more. Take your pick, Carolina.
Moving Rossi and Spurgeon will clear nearly $8.5 million of cap space, neatly allowing for a Necas extension. Necas will give the Wild depth on the power play, a nice change from relying on players like Freddy Gaudreau playing on the second unit. Due to his versatility, Necas could take faceoffs and play multiple roles on the power play.
Liam Öhgren would benefit from adding Necas to help translate his scoring ability. Necas has always been a playmaking center over his career, and Öhgren is primarily a scorer. Therefore, they should complement each other. Necas had a career-high 43 assists in 2022-23. Necas feeding Öhgren for a full season could give the Wild yet another Calder Trophy contender.
The Hurricanes could use a younger, cheaper center like Rossi. They have Sebastian Aho as their top-line center, but Jordan Staal, Jack Drury, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are beneath him on Carolina’s depth chart. These centers are mid-to-low-tier compared to Aho, one of the league’s most underrated centers. Can Rossi follow Aho's lead? If so, the Hurricanes wouldn’t need to draft a young center.
Rossi has more offensive upside than Drury, who came off a mediocre season, scoring 27 points in 74 games. Rossi also has more offensive upside than Kotkaniemi, who scored 27 points in 79 games. The Hurricanes don't have any more young centers in the system who can play behind Aho, so Aho would mentor Rossi. If Carolina continues to depend on Aho for most of their offensive production, they will continue to get eliminated.
Rossi will also benefit from a change of scenery, but will Carolina be patient with his development? The Hurricanes are in a win-now situation. They will have player control and upside with Rossi, 22, but he will need to improve from his rookie season performance if they want to advance in the playoffs. If Rossi can match Necas’ point totals (53 points) from this year, this will show that Rossi’s ready for the next challenge.
The Wild needed to add center depth with size, and Necas would address that. Minnesota should continue building around Kaprizov, who wants to win now, while also setting up for Danila Yurov's arrival. Yurov and Öhgren were first-round picks, and they could eventually play together with Necas to form a great second line behind Kaprizov's. With that level of support, the Wild have a much better chance to sign Kaprizov to a long-term deal. Acquiring Necas would be an expensive proposition for the Wild, but the upside of building a championship-caliber team around Kaprizov makes the cost worthwhile.
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