The Carolina Hurricanes are in the midst of a mass exodus this offseason after watching a plethora of talent depart Raleigh, including forwards Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Teuvo Teravainen. And those might not be the only players on the move as youngsters Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis remain without a contract heading into 2024-25.
Both forwards were crucial pieces of this roster last season, and although trade rumors continue to swirl around Necas, new general manager Eric Tulsky made it clear the goal is to get both locked up before next season.
“We're continuing to talk to his agent, trying to negotiate a deal,” Tulsky said regarding Necas earlier this week, per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. “Obviously, both sides would prefer that to going to a hearing, but arbitration creates a mechanism where if we can't agree on a deal, then a third party settles the deal for us. So, one way or another, it will get settled.”
Necas filed for arbitration and has a hearing on set for August 4. After Kuznetsov's contract was terminated on Thursday, and with Jack Drury now locked up on a two-year, $3.45 million pact, new deals for Necas and Jarvis are the last big pieces of business for Carolina's front office this summer.
Necas is coming off another solid season with the Hurricanes after putting up 24 goals and 53 points in 77 regular-season games and adding another nine points over 11 playoff contests. The 25-year-old is just a year removed from a career-best 71 points in 82 games.
“We have put everything on the table from one year to eight years,” Tulsky revealed of ongoing negotiations with Necas. “So, it's a question of figuring out whether there's something that makes sense for both sides.”
Tulsky hopes to keep both Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis long-term
While Necas is headed for arbitration, making things tricky, the same can't be said for Jarvis. The former first-round pick (No. 13 overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft is coming off a phenomenal season. He fit like a glove on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho (and Guentzel for a short time), shattering his career-highs across the board with 33 goals and 67 points in 81 games.
He also made a difference in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring five goals and nine points in the postseason. And Tulsky is confident they'll get the 22-year-old inked before training camp.
“It will get done eventually,” confirmed the GM, per Gulitti. “He wants to be here forever. We want him here forever. We just have to agree on what the right number is. It's possible it will be short-term deal and then a longer-term later. It's possible we'll do a long-term deal now. There's a lot of ways of getting it done, but nobody is concerned about whether he's going to be here for the long haul. It's just a question of how the contract makes that work.”
Getting both Necas and Jarvis signed would be huge for this team's chances to continue competing for a Stanley Cup in 2024-25 and beyond. And that's especially true with all of Guentzel, Kuznetsov, Teravainen and Stefan Noesen now absent from the forward core, along with longtime Hurricanes Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei on the back end.
“I think we're comfortable with what we have,” Tulsky explained. “Right now, our focus is on getting our last couple of RFAs signed. We are continuing to talk to teams about trade possibilities and looking at what's left out there. There is time left in the summer, so we are still looking under every rock trying to make the team better. But I think the most likely outcome right now is that we have our group unless something surprising comes up.”
It's certainly encouraging from a Hurricanes perspective that Necas might be hanging around despite significant trade interest, and it'll be interesting to see if both he and Jarvis are still part of the equation come training camp.
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