The Montreal Canadiens have been steadily progressing through their rebuild, with Kent Hughes doing what he can to tighten up the roster.
TSN Hockey analyst Pierre Lebrun reported that the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets were in talks with the Carolina Hurricanes regarding forward Martin Necas' availability. Necas requested a trade last year and had hoped to be on a new team before the 2024-2025 campaign. Unfortunately for the Habs, it never developed into anything.
Fortunately for the Hurricanes it never went beyond talks, because Necas has come flying out of the gates through the first quarter of the season. The Czechia product has 11-20-31 totals through the first 19 games of the season. Hurricanes management knew Necas had such capabilities, which explains why they didn't want to move the 25-year-old.
LeBrun on TSN says the Canes talked to 28 of the 31 other teams about Martin Necas, they got some serious trade offers as well, Winnipeg and Montreal were among them. Obviously the Canes must be pretty happy they talked through their issues.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) November 21, 2024
The Vegas Golden Knights moved on from Nick Suzuki, who was selected in the same draft (2017) as Necas. It is a move that I would have to think the Golden Knights are feeling pretty bothered about at this point. The Hurricanes narrowly avoided making a similar mistake, trading away a point-per-game potential player.
Shoulda, woulda, coulda
It's hard not to be a little heartbroken that Hughes was unable to cash in on a deal with the Canes for Necas, but I would have to think the price tag was a high one. It's not come out what it was, but the price to acquire a top-of-the-lineup centre, with 70-plus point capabilities isn't just a prospect or a pick. There would be some intriguing pieces going the Hurricanes' way if the trade had gone through.
You can't help but think that had they traded Necas, they would be feeling pretty upset with themselves now. Especially if he went to Montreal and played the second-line centre role behind Suzuki, shoring up the Canadiens' offense. This would have certainly sped up the Habs rebuild a bit, giving them the coveted second-line centre that they are currently seeking.
Moving now, however, the best best for the Habs is to stand pat and be patient. There are some great internal options and with a handful of picks for the 2025 NHL Draft, the Habs are just fine. And they will only get stronger and more skilled as players have time to develop.
So, it definitely stings now and it's not easy to draft 70-point players, but the Habs will do their best to develop their players in hopes of one reaching that level.