Martin Necas to Boston confirmed: David Pastrnak will keep number 88

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Joshua Deeds
July 25, 2024 (1:34 PM)

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It appears that Martin Necas, GM Eric Tulsky, and the Carolina Hurricanes will not honor his request for a trade.

Which seems for the Boston Bruins means they're out a top-six, goal-scoring forward.

As it appears for Tulsky they're not rushing a movie, and seem to have had trouble finding the right suitors for the RFA.

Looks like Necas is staying in Carolina this year.

While Necas and Pastrnak are obviously familiar, both being Czech-born hockey players, Pastrnak will be elated. He will be able to keep his #88, all the while bad news for Tulsky and the Canes:

"It is a lot easier to make trades before July 1 when teams have the flexibility to go pivot and sign other players to replace whatever they gave up than it is after July 1 when their roster is mostly built," Tulsky said, per NHL.com. "We are continuing to talk to teams, and we don't want to miss an opportunity to make the team better, but teams have less flexibility now than they had in June, so it's harder to find a deal now than it was then."

This sounds like a terrible practice in oversight, as Tulsky has overseen his first free agency, it sounds like it is a factor in bad management on his own end, especially if he can't find a suitor this late in the game.

Necas of course pursued arbitration, which the team didn't want to go through, and with Evgeny Kuznetsov's contract termination, the team will have the flexibility to sign Necas to a good term in his next deal.

However, it seems Tulsky played his cards too close to his chest as they made very few moves, on a team that isn't the same firebrand it was at the start of the 2020s:

"I think we're comfortable with what we have," Tulsky said. "Right now, our focus is on getting our last couple of RFAs signed. We are continuing to talk to teams about trade possibilities and looking at what's left out there. There is time left in the summer, so we are still looking under every rock trying to make the team better.

"But I think the most likely outcome right now is that we have our group unless something surprising comes up."

It's a shame the Bruins could make a deal happen, but it also appears Tulsky isn't flexible on the back end of the deal.

Source: Bruins Latest
Pasternak to wear #88 amidst Martin Necas News