Hurricanes, Nikishin still ‘trying to find a resolution’ to defenseman’s NHL future
The Carolina Hurricanes are just over 24 hours away from starting their defense of the Stanley Cup with a showdown against the Florida Panthers, and they will play without defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who remains an unsigned restricted free agent.
Nikishin has requested a trade, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, and the Hurricanes have attempted to accommodate that, with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reporting that Carolina had the framework of a trade in place with the New York Rangers, who themselves could not come to terms on a new contract with Nikishins’ camp.
Speaking at his pre-season media availability on Monday, Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky delivered an update as to where exactly the situation with Nikishin stands.
“[We’re] trying to find a resolution and figure out how we go forward from here,” Tulsky told the media, including team reporter Walt Ruff. “Ultimately, we both understand where the other side is. We just need to find a way to resolve it.”
Nikishin is looking to maximize his compensation in a market that is resulting in elevated price tags for young players as the salary cap continues to grow immensely. The Vancouver Canucks gave another young left-handed defenseman, Zeev Buium, an eight-year deal with a $9.38 million cap hit earlier this summer. Buium (26 points in 76 games) was considerably less productive than Nikishin, who totaled 33 points in 81 regular season games with quality underlying numbers.
The 24-year-old Russian was less of a factor in the postseason as the Hurricanes captured the Stanley Cup, when he tallied just one singular point in 18 appearances while skating to a minus-1 rating on an average of 14:50 of time on ice per game.
With the vast majority of last year’s Cup-winning team back, Carolina has little in the way of needs to target as part of a return for Nikishin. That could lead to a return centered around draft capital, or perhaps Nikishin could be used as part of a larger package to land disgruntled Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, as was reportedly discussed over the summer, according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli.
