The Carolina Hurricanes are looking for a next-man-up mentality for many players this upcoming season. This includes younger prospects, veteran core players looking for another step forward, and some struggling players looking to show they are worth their price tag. Martin Necas is a player who somewhat fits in between the second and third categories in the previous sentence. After an interesting offseason filled with much uncertainty, this season will be a big one for the Czech forward. But getting the best out of Martin Necas is a two-way street.
The Hurricanes Need Martin Necas This Season as He Needs Them
Martin Necas has been an interesting player for the Hurricanes since his arrival. The 2017 first-round pick has shown that he has all the offensive skill in the world. He is lighting fast in his straightaway speed and has a big shot. The part of his game that has been slower to come around is more on the defensive side, which is in high demand from head coach Rod Brind’Amour. This may be partially why Carolina hasn’t used Necas as a centre, even though he was drafted as one.
But it is no secret that he is one of the most skilled players on the Hurricanes. And it’s not totally unfair that over the summer reports indicated that he was looking for a bigger role. Even though a trade seemed almost certain, Necas re-signed with the team. Now the two sides are at a crucial moment with the Czech forward. He is under contract for two years and is 25 years old. If he wants to establish himself as a top-line and first power play player in Carolina’s system, the time is now. But Brind’Amour has to give him the opportunity as well. All parties want him to succeed. This is why it’s a big season coming up for Martin Necas.
Looking Back at Martin Necas’s Season
Two seasons ago Necas led the team in points when he passed the 70 mark. This included 26 on the power play. The past season he only reached 53 points but played five less games. His TOI/game decreased about one minute. With that said, he still was third on the team in goals, points and power play goals. Necas has never hit the thirty goal mark but passed twenty the last two years. He led all Hurricanes forwards in 5v5 xGF with a 55.66 but was worst among all forwards in xGA at 48.95. Both of his GF and GA were slightly lower than his expected numbers.
Necas has shown that he can drive offensive chances and put up points. He can score in many ways, including beating defenders with his speed for quick wraparounds as well as booming one timers from the circles on the power play.
So what does Carolina need from Necas?
The Hurricanes need Necas to be “the guy” offensively. Losing Jake Guentzel hurt and Necas will need to step up. A versatile goal scorer who doesn’t wait for the play around him but actually drives the offensive play itself. He needs to keep up his versatility in goal scoring and point producing. And he needs to keep the offensive drive going.
However, sometimes Necas tends to turn the puck over due to what looks like playing faster than those around him. He is so skilled and fast that sometimes his linemates can’t seem to track what he is trying to do quick enough. Necas will need to work on reading the play and making decisions on when to push the pace and when to take a second to look around. A drop pass to no one doesn’t do any good. But Necas’s game will do well when he is a little selfish. Don’t stickhandle through five guys but if he has the shot, take it. This is the same 5v5 and on the power play.
This smart decision making will do well to improve his defensive play as well. On one hand, he doesn’t have to be Carolina’s top shutdown guy. His role is to put up points. But on the other, Brind’Amour doesn’t accept passengers who float and wait for the puck to come to them. And while Necas’s game seems to need more room to improvise creatively on the fly, meshing that with the other four players around him defensively will be crucial. He has the speed to play Carolina’s man on man defence, he just needs to take another step forward to read the play around him. Martin Necas could see a big season if he does so.
And What Does Necas Need from Carolina?
This becomes somewhat of a chicken or the egg thing. Necas needs to perform to earn more ice time and opportunities, but the team needs to give him those opportunities and ice team to let him perform. His most consistent linemates last season were Jack Drury and Michael Bunting or Drury and Stefan Noesen. But neither line collected more than 160 minutes together. One thing Carolina needs to do is get Necas the right linemates. The second is to play them consistently to develop chemistry.
Skill wise, Necas can be a first-line winger. But the team seems most likely to look at Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis on that line. This leaves Necas as likely the “top guy” on the second line. The centre is likely to be Drury or Jesperi Kotkaniemi (or the less likely chance that Necas plays centre). Two seasons ago, Svechnikov, Kotkaniemi and Necas formed a good second line. Kotkaniemi and Svechnikov seemed to create space for Necas to perform. But last season just never saw that return. Now we might see someone like Bradly Nadeau earn a shot on this line and that will require Necas to be even more of a veteran for the line. But that too might be good for Necas as he may feel more room to “take over.”
Whether you want to call it line one, two, three or four, Necas ultimately needs linemates with him that can provide the space and creativity his game so desperately seems to desire. Going along with that, and with a somewhat of a transition year, Carolina needs to be ok putting Necas into high demand offensive roles and let him show what he can do. Let him be a go-to power play guy and develop a line that can produce offensively, with Necas being a big part, that is also reliable defensively.
It’s a big season for both Martin Necas and Carolina. And both want to succeed. But Necas needs to be a focus so that his full potential can be unleashed. This requires work on both sides with potentially tremendous rewards.
Main Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
