The Carolina Hurricanes have re-signed forward Martin Necas to a new two-year contract carrying a $3 million annual cap hit, the club announced Tuesday.
Necas scored 14 goals and 40 points in 78 games with the Hurricanes during the 2021–22 regular season. The 23-year-old center added five assists in 14 games as the Hurricanes reached the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Hurricanes originally selected Necas in the first round (No. 12 overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft. The 6’2″, 189-pound Czech forward made his NHL debut with the ‘Canes in 2017–18 and established himself as a regular in the lineup during the 2019–20 season.
The 2020–21 campaign was Necas’ best to date, as he scored 14 goals and 41 points in just 53 games before adding five points in 11 playoff contests. Despite appearing in 28 more games in 2021–22, Necas’ goal and point output largely remained the same as in 2020–21.
Necas was the Hurricanes’ final restricted free agent to sign this off-season. He’ll be eligible to become an RFA with arbitration rights when his new contract expires in 2024.
In 203 career games with the Hurricanes over parts of five seasons, Necas has scored 45 goals and 119 points. He’s added three goals and 14 points in 33 playoff games with Carolina.
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