Recently traded star forward says he thought he would be drafted by Red Wings
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Recently traded star forward Martin Necas, who was sent from Carolina to Colorado late last month, said he thought he would start his career with the Red Wings.
It was one of the largest trades in recent National Hockey League history, completed last month between the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas and Jack Drury; additionally, the Chicago Blackhawks joined in the trade by sending Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes while retaining half of Rantanen's salary.
Necas is one of the more talented players in the NHL, having already accumulated 60 points (17G, 43A) in 55 games split between the Hurricanes and Avalanche this year.
But now, Necas has revealed that going into the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the only club that he had any real communication with was the Detroit Red Wings, where he thought he would begin his career.
There was only one problem - he learned that they were more interested in a player with a bigger frame, and decided to select Michael Rasmussen with the 9th pick instead.
So, I had no idea who would take me. The only team that I was, I kind of thought and talked a lot with before the Draft was Detroit. But I found out they wanted a bigger guy, so they got Rasmussen.
I was happy to get drafted, and was quite nervous.
I was happy to get drafted, and was quite nervous.
Former NHL player Paul Bissonnette chimed in with a single word response when Necas said he found out the Red Wings wanted Rasmussen instead:
Whoops!
For comparison, Rasmussen has 134 points in 366 games, while Necas has 303 points in 417 games.
The Red Wings also notoriously blew an opportunity to select University of Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes the following year, opting instead for Filip Zadina, who became one of the all-time biggest draft busts in team history.
Hughes, meanwhile, is the captain of the Canucks and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman last year.
Hughes, meanwhile, is the captain of the Canucks and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman last year.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 5 | 286 ANSWERS Recently traded star forward says he thought he would be drafted by Red Wings Did the Red Wings make a mistake by selecting Michael Rasmussen instead of Martin Necas in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft? | ||
| Yes | 178 | 62.2 % |
| No | 108 | 37.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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