30 NHL stars who could be traded this offseason

As the Stanley Cup Final comes to a close, now it's time to focus on the NHL offseason. There are some absolute superstars who could be on the trading block, including Mitch Marner, Brady Tkachuk, and Trevor Zegras.

Ottawa Senators v Toronto Maple Leafs / Claus Andersen/GettyImages

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6. Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes had a very strange offseason already. They had rumors they were going cheap on head coach Rod Brind’Amour, but they ended up re-signing him and his entire staff. Then, GM Don Waddell ended his tenure in Carolina only to go off to Columbus. They named Eric Tulsky as GM, a very intelligent executive who should be able to seamlessly keep things rolling. Now, it’s time to address the roster.

Number one on the list might be to figure out what to do with Martin Necas. The 25-year-old has had an up-and-down career so far, but he’s clearly shown NHL skill at the highest level. After a 71-point season in 2022-23, he took a step back this season with just 53 points. He only missed seven games, so injuries can’t be the excuse. It might just be situational, and a divorce may be in order.

Necas needs a new contract now. He’s a restricted free agent on July 1. So, not only will a team have to figure out what Necas is worth on the trade market, but they also have to figure out what kind of a contract they want to give him.

Of course, if a team was bold, they’d just sign him to an offer sheet and pay the compensation tied to that, but not many teams are bold in today’s NHL. So instead, we’ll wait for a trade.

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