Despite allegations, Jets never gave Hurricanes perfection during the Necas pursuit.

Martin Necas, a forward, was recently re-signed by the Carolina Hurricanes to a two-year contract extension worth $6.5 million each season, allaying the fears of Canes supporters who thought he would be traded or transferred. These worries were heightened by a report from Frank Seravalli, who said that the Hurricanes turned down an offer from the Winnipeg Jets to acquire Necas in return for Cole Perfetti, Rutger McGroarty, and a draft pick. It didn’t seem plausible that the Jets would be prepared to part with two good young players and draft money for him, and a recent report from a far more reliable source in the Jets media community verified that the deal was never discussed in the first place.

The Winnipeg Sun reporter Scott Billeck stated in a recent tweet that the Jets had no intention of moving Perfetti. Rather, Perfetti was requested by the Hurricanes, who were informed that he was unavailable. Another major problem with this proposal was that Necas never materialized into a deal since he told the Jets he wasn’t interested in signing a long-term contract extension. If Necas told the Jets he wasn’t going to resign, it’s possible a deal was close at one point, but it doesn’t sound like it would have been the huge trade that Seravalli predicted.

Necas Would Have Been a Fantastic Addition to the Jets’ roster
Fans of the Hurricanes are aware of Necas’s attacking potential, and at just 25 years old, he might yet develop to a higher level. He finished the previous season with 77 games played, scoring 24 goals and dishing out 29 assists for 53 points, or 0.69 points per game on average. He has played in 362 games so far in his career, averaging 0.67 points per game. He has scored 97 goals and added 146 assists for 243 points. The Jets’ top-nine forward group would have benefited greatly from adding someone who can regularly score 50–60 points every season while still not being at the top of his game, but the cost appears to have been too steep.

Related: Jets and Capitals are rumored to have discussed Connor McMichael’s trade.

Although some Hurricanes supporters have doubts about Necas’ reliability in the defensive zone, he appeared to make progress the previous campaign, and if he can grow to become a premier two-way player, clubs who didn’t spend a lot of money to acquire him would come to regret it. He appears ready for a breakthrough season and has the makings of an NHL superstar. The Jets should have made a somewhat stronger push with other assets if they intended to make a deep playoff run this season, even though they were wise to keep onto Perfetti and McGroarty for the time being.

Seravalli asserted that Sabres were also interested.
Finally, Seravalli stated that although the Buffalo Sabres were interested in Necas, they withdrew from trade talks since he had no intention of signing with them again. Although the Sabres might have been intrigued, given what the Hurricanes were asking for Necas, I don’t see how negotiations could ever get near. They don’t appear to be in a situation where it makes sense for them to be moving prospects for rentals, and they don’t exactly have the resources available to pull off a deal for him right now.

Martin Necas Hurricanes from Carolina
The Carolina Hurricanes’ Martin Necas (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Necas is ultimately going to remain in Carolina. The Hurricanes hope to improve on their previous season’s postseason performance as they aim to contend for their first Stanley Cup since 2006. The Hurricanes are hopeful Necas can show everyone wrong and shine even brighter than before, exploding offensively and leading them to a title this season, after deciding not to move him.