How close were the Habs to obtain Martin Necas?
Of all the topics related to the Montreal Canadiens during the offseason, the case of Martin Necas is probably the one that has garnered the most attention on our site and across all Quebec hockey blogs.
However, the context has evolved in such a way as to open the door for Don Waddell's successor to reach an agreement with Necas. The Carolina Hurricanes have lost several key players with the departures of Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Stefan Noesen, Brady Skjei, and Brett Pesce. The organization had no choice but to extend the Czech forward's contract, despite numerous trade rumors surrounding him.
We remember that Martin Necas ultimately agreed with the Hurricanes on the terms of a two-year contract worth 13 million dollars. A salary that is quite reasonable, considering that he can play in the top six of the 32 NHL teams.
As you know, the Canadiens showed interest in him, and some fans were even quite confident they would see him land in Montreal this fall.
Martin Necas makes a new statement regarding the trade market: he confirms that there were indeed trade discussions involving him, and two teams are named
However, the site HabsolumentFan reports that it seems Kent Hughes was not necessarily among the finalists.
In one of the recent episodes of the podcast 32 Thoughts, it was shared that Necas confirmed he had received a lot of interest from several teams, mentioning two that were very serious: the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Winnipeg Jets. This indicates that the Canadiens were not among the finalists.
It's intriguing to see the Blue Jackets among the two finalist teams in the Necas derby. Kent Hughes ultimately turned to Columbus to acquire the top-6 forward he desperately sought in Patrik Laine.
As for the Jets, it's likely that the organization wanted to acquire a valuable player in exchange for prospect Rutger McGroarty, who was part of the trade discussions. McGroarty had made it clear that he had no interest in playing in Winnipeg. He was eventually traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins a few weeks ago.
Two years of contract for Martin Necas doesn't seem like much! Will Don Waddell deliver the final blow in 2026?
Source: HABSolumentFan Martin Necas reveals the teams that were the most serious about acquiring him
| POLL | ||
Which player do you prefer between Patrik Laine and Martin Necas? | ||
| Patrik Laine | 175 | 81.4 % |
| Martin Necas | 40 | 18.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
