The 2023-24 season has been interesting for Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas. The 25-year-old Czechia native has seen some peaks and valleys throughout the 50 games that he’s played for the Hurricanes this season. He missed five games at the beginning of January due to an upper-body injury he suffered during practice. Before that, he was on pace to have possibly the worst season of his six-year career. However, after coming back, he’s been electric for Carolina, especially over the last 13 games he’s played, dating back to the Jan. 19 games versus the Detroit Red Wings. Let us dive into the last 13 games played for Necas to see how red-hot he’s been for Carolina.
Necas’ Scoring Touch is En Fuego
With the way Necas has been playing, it starts to beg the question, is he finding the 71-point form that the team and fans saw during the 2022-23 season? He led the team last season with the mentioned 71 and his form as of late is showing signs of that guy. If so, that could help the Hurricanes down the stretch with 27 games left in the regular season. Before he suffered his injury, Necas got an assist in the Jan. 2 game against the New York Rangers. When he came back just a couple of weeks later versus the Red Wings, he had been one of the hottest players on the Hurricanes scoring-wise.
Related: Hurricanes’ Necas on a Hot Streak After Return from Injury
Counting the Rangers game up until Feb. 22 before the Florida Panthers game, Necas has tallied 15 points in his last 13 games played since the start of 2024. He’s scored eight goals and assisted on seven others over that span to start the new year. He has been over a point-per-game player since early January while missing games over that time. The way he has been scoring lately has been a breath of fresh air not only for him but for the Hurricanes as well. He is in the last year of his two-year, $6 million deal that will see him become a restricted free agent (RFA) after the 2023-24 season.
After 50 games played, Necas has 17 goals and 40 points which puts him third on the team in points. He sits only behind team leader Sebastian Aho (59 points) and Seth Jarvis (46). His 17 goals also put him third on the team and his 23 assists rank third as well. The form that he has had over his last 13 games has given him a chance to prove that he has not fallen off and back to the former player before the 71-point breakout season. If he has truly found that form of the 71-point player, does it give the Hurricanes a better chance going into the 2024 NHL Playoffs with the Trade Deadline just two weeks away? There was a piece done recently where Carolina might look into possibly trading for Calgary Flames winger Yegor Sharangovich. A player that was a part of the trade was Necas.
Related: Hurricanes Should Trade for Flames’ Sharangovich
Since that article came out on Feb. 1, Necas has tallied four goals and nine points in seven games. Sharangovich has tallied two assists in seven games. It goes to show that things in the NHL can change really quickly and some trade ideas are just meant as ideas. What has really helped Necas show everyone that he has to stay in Carolina was the game against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 8 when he scored a natural hat trick in the first period. No, that is correct. He scored a natural hat trick against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period. The cool thing about that hat trick was that it was the first ever of his career. If there was a way to get one, that is the way to do it. The four goals in the last seven games came from that game alone. When you’re feeling hot, you’re feeling hot.
Necas is also currently on a three-game point streak with one goal and four assists over that span. It is safe to assume that he won’t be leaving Carolina anytime soon.
