Necas signs 2-year, $13 million contract with Hurricanes, avoids hearing

Martin Necas signed a two-year, $13 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. It has an average annual value of $6.5 million.

The 25-year-old forward, who was a restricted free agent, had filed for salary arbitration July 5.

“Martin is an immensely skilled player who provides a scoring threat whenever the puck is on his stick,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said. “He will play a key role in the continued success of our franchise, and we’re excited to have a multiyear contract done.”

Necas had 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists) in 77 regular-season games for Carolina last season and nine points (four goals, five assists) in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Selected by Carolina in the first round (No. 12) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Necas has 243 points (97 goals, 146 assists) in 362 regular-season games and 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 59 playoff games.

Jack Drury also had an arbitration hearing scheduled, but the forward signed a two-year, $3.45 million contract ($1.725 million AAV) with the Hurricanes on July 17.

Forward Seth Jarvis is Carolina’s remaining unsigned RFA. The No. 13 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Jarvis set NHL career highs with 33 goals, 34 assists and 67 points in 81 games last season, his third in the NHL, and had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 11 playoff games.

"It's possible it will be short-term deal and then a longer-term later," Tulsky said. "It's possible we'll do a long-term deal now. There's a lot of ways of getting it done, but nobody is concerned about whether he's going to be here for the long haul. It's just a question of how the contract makes that work."

NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report