‘I was happy to stay and prove people wrong’: Hurricanes’ Martin Necas on past trade talk and his breakout season

Carolina Hurricanes right winger Martin Necas

Credit: Nov 17, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Martin Necas (88) celebrates his goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

How happy would May 2024 Martin Necas be if you told him about November 2024 Martin Necas?

The previous version of him was the underachieving, disgruntled Carolina Hurricanes right winger, coming off a disappointing season in which his point total dipped from 71 to 53 and his team lost in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. As a pending restricted free agent wanting a larger role, he requested a trade and was one of the most talked about players potentially on the move in the offseason. A deal never materialized, he decided to re-sign after all for two years at a $6.5 million AAV and, several months later, both sides couldn’t be happier. Necas is playing a more prominent role, brimming with confidence and – wait for it – tied for the NHL scoring lead with an incredible 35 points, including 12 goals, in 21 games.

Talk about a 180 for both team and player, one that will mean a lot next July 1 when Necas becomes eligible to sign an extension. What has changed for him between last season and this one? How is he feeling about his place on the team now?

Necas, 25, caught up with Daily Faceoff this week to discuss the whirlwind he’s experienced in the past six months.

DAILY FACEOFF: Let’s start with the news that can’t be ignored: have you been looking at the NHL stat leaderboard? Have you noticed that you’re first in the league in scoring right now?

MARTIN NECAS: I try not to, but most of my friends and people close to me, obviously they talk to me, and I would say they care more than I do, you know? It’s been only one quarter of the season, but yeah, it’s pretty nice. It’s just the beginning of the season and I’m happy that we’re doing great. Once the team is doing good then it’s always easier for individuals, and that’s been the case so far.

DFO: Do you feel different this season, like your confidence in your game is at a new level? Or is it more that you always felt this way and the puck is just going in more? What do you think has been the difference?

NECAS: I always believed in myself that I could be this kind of player. Even the opportunity, being on the first power play and on the ice for the moments where you need to score and in those important situations, is huge. My linemates have been really good, it’s been real fun with them and obviously the power play has been clicking which helps a lot too. Confidence is a big part of a game, and when you’re playing in that little flow, you don’t really think about a game too much. That when it’s at its best and that’s been the case.

DFO: You mentioned the power play. You’re right about the role change – your power-play minutes per game have roughly doubled year over year. In the summer when your future wasn’t certain and you made the trade request, you wanted a bigger role. Now that you’re getting those valuable minutes, are you having more fun this season? Do you feel more valued by the team?

NECAS: Yeah. I’m one of those players who…I love hockey. I don’t just play because [my job is] a hockey player. I enjoy it. To keep playing like this, and I’m an offensive player and I’m playing in those situations when you get to score and you’re out there for your power play, it’s really fun. It’s a way different feeling. You’re in the game a lot.

DFO: From the outside view, going into the offseason, no one knew exactly how things were going to end up for your future with the Hurricanes. Do you find, mentally, now that you have that contract – I know it’s not a long-term contract – but now that you don’t have it hanging over your head, do you feel more relaxed? And do you think it affected you last year, thinking about it?

NECAS: I don’t know if that affected me, but, honestly…when you’re trying to get points, and I had a good season [in 2022-23], and pucks were going in, and [last season] I wasn’t playing my best, I was up and down in the lineup, and once you start thinking about getting points and scoring and all this stuff, it always affects your game in a bad way.

This season I’m just out here playing, having fun and trying to do the best for the team. And I always like that feeling when people underestimate you, which is the case for me but for our team as well. I was talking to Roddy [coach Rod Brind’Amour]: ‘I know I can step it up, Svech can step it up, Jarvy [Seth Jarvis] can be better and we all know we can be better, we can take it to the next step. We’ve got some great players and we’re not going to be worse, I feel like we’re going to be better this season.’ And so far we’ve been great and we’ve just got to build on this quarter of the season and keep it going.

DFO: Was there a point in the summer when you knew in your heart that you were going to stay with Carolina, a sign, something that made you feel sure?

NECAS: There was a lot of stuff going on especially after the World Championship [in Necas’ native Czechia]. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I was a restricted free agent, and then free agency happened and then it looked like I was going to stay. We have an unbelievable group in the locker room, and I was really happy to stay and kind of prove people wrong, happy I could be here for two more seasons, just playing in the moment.

DFO: [Anaheim Ducks captain] Radko Gudas was just telling me about the Czechia winning the 2024 World Championship at home in Prague and how magical it was there. For you, how special was that and where does it rank in terms of the most special moments of your career?

NECAS: Yeah, I mean, that was the best moment in my life almost [laughs]. I must say it was something that we will never forget, the guys that were there, winning the Worlds in Prague was quite special. Just the support – the I don’t think there was a single person that wasn’t watching the games in Czech. And as underdogs we wanted gold and especially being in Prague was unreal. I won Czech League a couple times, AHL, World Champs, and it pumps me up to win a Stanley Cup here in Carolina. It’s a long season, World Champs is a short tournament, but I feel like we’ve got a special core here, and we’ve just got to keep building on what we’ve done so far and we can be even better here.

DFO: Radko was saying in the moments after the win that he felt it was almost like being a rockstar, like people were just going crazy in Prague. Was that your experience too?

NECAS: Yeah it was. You couldn’t really go anywhere without security and the whole square was packed. I don’t know how many people there were, but it was just a full week of celebrations. You know don’t really know how to describe it, but once you once you feel it, you want to get more of it.

DFO: So your dad was a cross-country skier, and your mother was a basketball player. Growing up with parents who were athletes, did it make your household competitive? Did that help you?

NECAS: Definitely. Since I was younger I always loved hockey, but I did all the other sports. I played soccer, I played tennis. Actually, growing up I played some tournaments as well. I did it all and I feel like that’s a big part of why I’m so competitive and want to win everything, which is the first thing you tell yourself, ‘You don’t want to lose, win everything,’ and it keeps you going. It definitely wasn’t just hockey, it was all these sports.

DFO: And do you still play tennis just for fun in the offseason?

NECAS: I play a lot. It’s a big part of my workout in the summer and something that us Czechs, lots of hockey players there play in the summers, as it’s something that combines lots of running and lots of conditioning.

DFO: Are you good? Do you usually win when you’re playing against your buddies?

NECAS: Yeah. In terms of hockey players I win, I would say, most of my matches, but it’s tough because I can’t play during the season. I’m too tired playing during the season, so I just play in the summer. But until 13 or 14 years old I played [competitive] tennis growing up, so it’s definitely something that I enjoy. I love watching. My idol, my favorite tennis player ever, Rafael Nadal, just retired. He was was my hero growing up. Alex Ovechkin and Rafael Nadal for sure. I loved his work ethic and how he acted on the court. I hope I can meet him one day.

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‘I was happy to stay and prove people wrong’: Hurricanes’ Martin Necas on past trade talk and his breakout season

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