We’re back with another NHL Rumors edition from the staff at Last Word on Hockey. Teams are getting ready for the upcoming summer as the Lord Stanley Cup award draws near. This NHL Rumours segment is on the Montreal Canadiens, who are said to have been keeping tabs on Martin Necas, a forward with the Carolina Hurricanes.
All NHL rumors are based on their original sources and could be updated.
NHL Rumors: According to Pierre Lebrun, the Montreal Canadiens are investigating Martin Necas in relation to insider trading.
According to Pierre LeBrun on the most recent episode of TSN’s Insider Trading, five to seven teams have asked about Hurricanes forward Martin Necas’ availability. The Montreal Canadiens were one of those teams.
LeBrun notes that while all of the clubs are in the early stages of discussing obtaining the forward, none of them has backed down from their offers to reach a deal that would satisfy the Hurricanes. But the Canadiens would have a ton of prospects and draft selections (24 in the next two drafts) at their disposal, and they could put together a deal that would suit the Hurricanes’ requirements going ahead.
The Canadiens Would Move Forward with Their Rebuild if They Acquired Necas
Necas would help the Canadiens advance to the next phase of their rebuild if they are successful in pursuing him. Necas is undoubtedly the kind of reliable top-six forward the Canadiens need right now in order to score goals. Necas has played in 159 games over the past two seasons, tallying 52 goals and 124 points. This is in addition to 26 postseason games with eight goals and fifteen points. Speaking of Martin Necas, there is no shortage of offensive material.
Other than Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky, the Canadiens’ top line, no other forward on the team scored 40 points. This raises some concerns. Freshman Alex Newhook scored 15 goals and 34 points in 55 games, good for fourth place among the team’s forwards in terms of scoring. Even if Newhook set new career highs, if you want to compete in this league, you don’t need these kinds of performances from one of your top scorers. The Canadiens’ offense will undoubtedly have more firepower now that Kirby Dach is back, but adding Necas to the lineup would give the team two strong scoring lines up front and make them much more difficult to play against in the upcoming campaign.
The Price of Purchasing Necas
A player of Necas’ caliber will undoubtedly come at a high price. But now is the opportunity for the Canadiens to get ahead of the competition and sign him. The Canadiens will have 24 picks in the next two rounds, as previously indicated. There are three second-round picks and four first-round picks in this. Additionally, they have an abundance of young defensemen at their disposal, all of whom are obviously unable to be on the squad. Additionally, they have Owen Beck, the MVP of the most recent Memorial Cup, on their roster. Beck will compete for a spot on the squad this season and may potentially be used as a negotiating chip if the Canadiens see fit.
The Canadiens have the components to complete the deal, even if it’s unclear what they would have to give up to obtain Necas. As a result, we should anticipate Kent Hughes to pursue offense aggressively this offseason.
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