The Carolina Hurricanes have locked in Martin Necas for a further two seasons, but now it's been revealed he was almost traded to the St. Louis Blues. After plenty of speculation early in the summer, Martin Necas ultimately inked a new deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, keeping the RFA with the team that drafted him back in 2017 for a further two seasons. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1817995827505143920'> </a></blockquote></div> The deal carries a cap hit of $6.5 million, and at 25-years of age, Necas has already proven that he's worth that type of money, putting up 124 points over his past two seasons. However, this almost didn't play out like this, as Elliotte Friedman has now reported that the St. Louis Blues were on the verge of acquiring Necas earlier in the summer before the deal fell apart for unspecified reasons. <div align='center' style='padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;'><img src='https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/472010.webp' width='100%' border='0' alt='image' loading='lazy' defer /></div> They would then turn their attention to the Edmonton Oilers, from whom they acquired Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway via offer sheet, but this interest shows they are intent on acquiring elite young talent as they look to rebuild their roster on the move. In Necas, they would have gotten an elite center that they could build around for years to come, but ultimately, he remained in Carolina as they continue their charge for a Stanley Cup, but in two years at 27-years of age, he'll be a highly sought after free agent. Source: Blade of Steel <a href='https://www.bladeofsteel.com/nhl-team/saint-louis-blues/western-conference-team-nearly-acquired-martin-necas-this-summer' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Western Conference team nearly acquired Martin Necas this summer</a>