Carolina Hurricanes to let 7 players walk, including Martin Necas

It's been 18 years since the Carolina Hurricanes last appeared in the Stanley Cup Final, despite the efforts of the front office to improve the roster and make big trades, such as bringing in Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Some big changes could be coming on and off the ice this summer for the Carolina Hurricanes and it appears that one of their top forwards, along with a key defenceman, won't be returning to the team next season.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes aren't expected to sign forward Martin Necas and defenceman Brett Pesce to new contracts this summer. Necas is set to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, so the Hurricanes will likely trade him, while Pesce will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

Meanwhile, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Hurricanes have eight unrestricted free agents this summer but are prioritizing a long-term deal with Jake Guentzel. Pagnotta said talks with the other seven UFAs, including Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei and Teuvo Teravainen, have been non-existent.

It's going to be interesting to see what the Carolina Hurricanes do with their roster this summer and if they decide to hold talks with any of the seven unrestricted free agents they haven't spoken with yet.

Another big situation to keep an eye on in Carolina over the coming weeks is the status of Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour. Brind'Amour is set to be without a contract and while there are reports he won't leave Carolina, there will no doubt teams without a coach right now would like to speak with him.