With the final arbitration hearings approaching early in the week, we saw a couple of important settlements while a pair of key blueliners inked long-term contract extensions. Those are among the headlines in our key stories.
Second Bridge For Necas: Unable to find a suitable trade (or at least a team he was willing to sign long-term with), Martin Necas and the Hurricanes ultimately settled on a two-year, $13MM contract to avoid salary arbitration. The deal does not contain any trade protection (he’s too young to be eligible) and walks him right to UFA eligibility in 2026. The 25-year-old wasn’t quite able to match his 2022-23 output when he had a career-best 71 points but he still turned in a solid showing last season with 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games. It’s believed that Necas is looking to play a more prominent role, we’ll find out next season if Carolina is willing to play him higher up the lineup or if he’ll remain a fixture on the second line.
Lindgren Avoids Arbitration: Rather than get to a hearing, the Rangers and defenseman Ryan Lindgren agreed on a one-year, $4.5MM contract. The deal represents a fair-sized raise on his previous $3MM AAV and $3.6MM qualifying offer. Lindgren played in 76 games last season, picking up three goals and 14 assists while surpassing 100 blocks and hits in 19:21 per night. He will still have one year of arbitration eligibility remaining next summer but this time, he’ll be owed a $4.5MM qualifying offer.
Eight For Faber: Following a stellar rookie year, the Wild wasted little time locking up defenseman Brock Faber, signing him to an eight-year, $68MM contract extension that will run through the 2032-33 season. The 21-year-old joined Minnesota for a handful of games in 2023 but last season was his first full professional campaign. Faber quickly became their top blueliner, putting up 47 points while playing in all 82 games, averaging nearly 25 minutes a night in the process which helped earn him a spot on the All-Rookie team and a second-place finish in Calder Trophy voting. While there is some risk in signing a player with less than 100 games of NHL experience (including playoffs) to that type of contract, Faber’s cost could have gone even higher next summer if he had a similar showing in 2024-25.
Calling It A Career: Veteran forward Eric Staal has decided to retire, signing a one-day contract with the Hurricanes before officially calling it a career. The 39-year-old last played in the 2022-23 campaign as a regular fourth line center with Florida, capping an impressive 18-year career. All told, Staal picked up 455 goals and 608 assists in 1,365 games with six different organizations with a dozen of those coming with Carolina where he holds the bulk of the team’s records post-relocation from Hartford. The Hurricanes will retire Staal’s #12 at some point this coming season.
Canadiens Sign Three Blueliners: The Canadiens were busy dealing with several of their young rearguards. First, they re-signed their two remaining restricted free agents to bridge contracts. Arber Xhekaj received a two-year, $2.6MM deal while Justin Barron re-upped for two years and $2.3MM in total. Both players will be restricted free agents again in 2026, this time with arbitration eligibility. Then, Montreal inked Kaiden Guhle to a six-year, $33.3MM extension that begins in 2025-26. The 22-year-old has logged big minutes in his first two seasons, establishing himself as a long-term piece of their blueline puzzle as they look to try to emerge from their rebuild in the coming seasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.