If someone were to ask to look up clutch in the dictionary, there might be a picture of Martin Necas beside the definition. Probably not, but ask any Carolina Hurricanes fan and they would agree with you. All joking aside, Necas has been the personification of clutch for the Hurricanes regarding overtime hockey. On Tuesday, Nov. 7 against the Buffalo Sabres, he added more to the lore of him being that guy when it matters most. Carolina battled all game, saw 3v3 overtime hockey, and once again claimed the second point thanks to Necas as they won 3-2 versus the Sabres. One has to ask, why does he have the nickname “Mr. Overtime”? This is why that is the case.
Necas is That Guy, Pal
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Necas leads the NHL in overtime game-winning goals with seven. No other player in that span has more than him. Throughout his career, he has nine game-winning goals in overtime including two already this season after 13 games played. He has five goals so far this season with two of them being the aforementioned overtime winners.
On top of that, Necas as a whole has 19 goals that sealed wins for the Hurricanes. The most he has had in one season was during the 2021-22 campaign where he had six in 78 games played. What makes that interesting is that it wasn’t during his career year when he tallied 28 goals, five of them being game-winners, and nine were on the power-play.
It is clear that Necas can score in big moments for the Hurricanes and it has not come just over the last season and this current one. He has managed to spread out the clutch factor over his seven-year career, all with the Hurricanes, so far. Luckily for him, his game has come together and people have been taking notice not only in Carolina but around the hockey world as well.
Related: Hurricanes’ Kotkaniemi & Necas Are Leading the Way in Carolina
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The thing that makes this current run so wild to think about is that he did not get voted to the 2023 NHL All-Star Game while having a career year last season. While scoring power-play goals left, right, and center along with his overtime game-winning goals, he was somehow snubbed from the All-Star event. Hurricanes fans were incensed and they had every right to be. Even people around the hockey world were shocked that he did not make it with the season he was having to that point. Necas even finished the 2022-23 season leading the Hurricanes in points with 71. The points kept stacking up on top of each other to show what a season he had last year.
Even right now during the current 2023-24 season, Necas is second on the team with 11 points tallying five goals in the process. As mentioned earlier, two of those five came in overtime. Only Jesperi Kotkaniemi has more points with 12. His five goals have him tied for second on the team with Kotkaniemi and Seth Jarvis while Teuvo Teravainen leads with eight goals after 13 games played.
Necas Proving to Stay with Hurricanes
It is clear that Necas is showing that his career year last season was not a fluke. He is especially making that a case since he is in the final year of his current two-year, $6 million deal. The Hurricanes gave it to him in August 2022 to prove himself to them that he belongs in Carolina. He has done more than just show that by having the season he had in 2022-23 and the start he has had so far in 2023-24.
Related: Hurricanes’ Necas Needs to Prove Last Year Was No Fluke
After the end of the 2023-24 season, Necas will be a restricted free agent (RFA) so the Hurricanes will still have control of his rights after the conclusion of the playoffs. Furthermore, he is arbitration-eligible if the team and Necas cannot agree on an extension before the arbitration case. There hasn’t been any word if both parties will go to arbitration court but there is a slight chance of it happening. However, it is clear that Necas likes playing in Carolina and the team really likes him on the team as well with how he’s been playing lately.
It makes sense for both parties to get a long-term extension done before the arbitration court because it benefits everyone involved. The Hurricanes have Sebastian Aho, Kotkaniemi, and Andrei Svechnikov locked up for the next seven-plus years with other guys coming to the end of their contracts who will need extensions as well. When it comes to Necas, it is a no-brainer to give him one as well and it won’t be a surprise if it came in the way of a five-year deal around $5.5 million per year.
A five-year $27.5 million deal would be the ideal contract for both Necas and the Hurricanes. It keeps him in Carolina for most of the Aho, Kotkanimei, and Svechnikov deals along with potential extensions of Jaccob Slavin, Jarvis, Brett Pesce, and other players on the team who the Hurricanes want to keep.
Necas is a Hurricanes Through and Through
All in all, Necas is a popular player among Hurricanes fans and the team loves having him in Carolina. He likes being in Carolina as well and deserves to stay for hopefully his entire career. Since the 2022-23 season, he has shown that he belongs in Raleigh and will be the guy to lean on in clutch moments, especially in overtime. It will just come down to an extension that works for both parties. Expect Necas to keep adding to the legacy that he has been growing since the 2021-22 season and even more so since the 2022-23 campaign. There is no slowing down Necas so it’s best to jump on the train now before it really leaves the station.
