Necas is in his sixth full season with Carolina and has 55 points (16 goals, 39 assists) in 49 games. The 26-year-old had an NHL career-high 71 points (28 goals, 43 assists) in 2022-23, and has 298 points (113 goals, 185 assists) in 411 games. He also has 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 59 playoff games.
The No. 12 pick by Carolina in the 2017 NHL Draft, Necas signed a two-year, $13 million contract ($6.5 million AAV) on July 29 to avoid a salary arbitration hearing and could have become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
Drury is in his third full NHL season with Carolina, and has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 39 games after having 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 74 games last season. The 24-year-old, who was selected by the Hurricanes in the second round (No. 42) of the 2018 NHL Draft, has 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) in 153 regular-season games and eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 24 postseason games.
He signed a two-year, $3.45 million contract ($1.725 million AAV) with Carolina on July 17.
“Marty Necas, he’s been around the top 10 in scoring this year, but I think it’s his age is a big part of that, he fits in with his speed,” MacFarland said. “He’s certainly a top-six talent. Whether he has another bump in his game with the way we play, we’ll see. I think Jack is hopefully that [third-line center] that we’ve been kind of [looking] for. It’s no secret that this will improve our depth.
“Jack’s a gritty, competitive guy that I think our coaches will use on the penalty kill. We think there’s another bump in his game offensively as well. And it’s no secret that we’ve not been the best face-off team the last number of years and I think that’s an area where he’ll help us for sure. So, just looking for him to be a gritty, competitive guy and play a two-way game.”
The Hurricanes (30-16-3), who are second in the Metropolitan Division, rank fifth in the NHL with an average of 3.37 goals per game.
They have made the playoffs in six straight seasons but have not gotten to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in the Eastern Conference Final in 2019 and 2023.
They play at the New York Islanders on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSGSN), and Rantanen and Hall will each be in the lineup.
“It’s obviously exciting to see how it fits,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I mean, it’s tough for them not to have even a little practice or anything. It’s exciting, just the potential of what’s there. … . I mean, it takes time. So we’ll see. As I said, I’m hopeful both of these guys can contribute. That’s the whole name of the game.”
Before the season, MacFarland said he wasn’t worried about signing Rantanen to a new contract. The Avalanche (28-19-2) hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Necas and Drury were each in the lineup against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
“I’m not going to get into sort of the month by month, week by week chronology of [the trade],” MacFarland said Saturday. “I think it was just a tough business decision here for us. We just felt that the pieces we got, it made sense to strike now.
“I think we’re always sort of looking to get better, certainly over the next few weeks that won’t change. Obviously, there’s a [few] more bullets in the draft pick cupboards and some cap space. It’s not easy to make trades in this league as you guys know, but we’ll continue to look. And if something makes sense, then we’ll certainly strike.”
Hall, who last played in the postseason for Boston in 2023, when he had eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven games, said earlier this month that the possibility of going back to the playoffs would be a welcome opportunity.
“There’s always a bright spot and there’s always a positive you can take going on forward. Everyone in a contract year knows there’s a lot of different ways things can go,” he said. “I’m ready for anything. I have a great wife who is always ready for a good adventure, and if that’s here or if that’s somewhere else, we’ll figure it out.”
The Blackhawks acquired Hall to be a mentor and potential linemate for Connor Bedard, who was the No. 1 pick by Chicago in the 2023 NHL Draft. Hall missed most of last season after having surgery on his right knee in November 2023 and has played up and down the forward lines this season.
Chicago (15-28-5) is 15th in the West.
NHL.com senior writer Amalie Benjamin, staff writer Tracey Myers and independent correspondent Stefen Rosner contributed to this report
