Carolina Hurricanes won't trade Martin Necas to team because they hold grudge

Teams who are not in contention for the Stanley Cup are already in full offseason mode, with trade talks and negotiations well under way. The Stanley Cup for the 2023–24 season has not yet been awarded. Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes, a future restricted free agent, is one of the most sought-after names in deals right now. An update is now available.

Necas is coming off a deal that paid him $3 million a season. Although the Hurricanes seem determined to pursue the free agent market and want to let go of Necas in order to free up more cash, he deserves a raise. A number of teams are interested, with the Montreal Canadiens being one of the more talked-about teams at the moment.

However, while the Habs have plenty of interest, Nick Kypreos said on his latest podcast that it's just not going to happen. He cited bad blood between the Canadiens and Hurricanes as the reason why.

To cut a lengthy tale short, the animosity between the two began in 2019 when then-general manager Marc Bergevin of the Canadiens submitted an offer sheet for Canes Sebastian Aho. Tom Dundon, the owner of Carolina, promptly matched the offer sheet. Two years later, the Canes made an offer sheet for pending Canadiens RFA Jesperi Kotkaniemi in an attempt to surpass Bergevin, and they were successful in acquiring him.

Although it was never about the money or the player, Carolina may now regret the successful offer sheet given Kotkaniemi's current contract. It should be mentioned that Don Waddell, the general manager of the Canes, and Bergevin are no longer with Carolina and Montreal, respectively, and that those people may just wish to move on.