Back to Necas.
I was of the opinion that we should trade Necas after last year. I do think we would have a better team for the next 5 years if we gave Guentzel $8.5Mx8 (assuming he would have stayed with more money, which we don't know) and traded Necas.
I have to imagine the Borg did their due diligence and did look to trade Necas, but the deals weren't there. I'm positive Necas would look better in another system, but I think we've had enough sample size to know who he is as a player. We've seen him to score 72 points here and he can do it again. That is definitely worth $6.5M. We don't have better options than him on PP1 and I think that unit will eventually have good chemistry and score a lot of points.
I don't love his game for the playoffs, in general, but we have seen him be a man possessed for a game here and there. His play last postseason left me frustrated at times, but 9 points in 11 games isn't bad, and I thought he was overall more impactful than Jake Guentzel.
I also think it's likely he walks after 2 years, but 2 years from now is an eternity by NHL standards.