Report: Hurricanes’ Alexander Nikishin requested trade following 2025-26 season; request remains in place
With just over two weeks remaining until the puck will drop for the start of the 2026-27 NHL regular season, several notable restricted free agents are still without new contracts.
That includes Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who notched 33 points in 81 games as a rookie before adding a point in 17 postseason games as the Hurricanes rolled to the Stanley Cup.
According to the latest from NHL insider Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Nikishin and his representation requested a trade away from the Hurricanes after the conclusion of Carolina’s successful playoff run, a request that remains in place with the start of training camp just days away.
“Defenseman Alexander Nikishin remains unsigned by the Carolina Hurricanes as camps get set to open,” LeBrun noted. “The 24-year-old RFA requested a change of scenery after the season, and one thing that was made clear to me Monday is that the request remains in place.”
That Nikishin’s name is coming up in trade conversations is no surprise— NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported in June that he was the centerpiece of the Hurricanes’ offer to the Winnipeg Jets to land star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, and other reports have linked Nikishin to other teams, as well.
What is news based on LeBrun’s reporting is that those discussions may be a result of Nikishin’s camp’s request and not just an effort on Carolina’s part to cash in on a valuable young asset.
Nikishin’s arrival to the Hurricanes was heavily anticipated by fans, as the Russian defenseman the club selected with the No. 69 overall pick in 2020 spent years as a star in the KHL blossoming into one of the top NHL prospects playing outside North America. Nikishin eventually departed SKA St. Petersburg, who he captained from 2023 through 2025, to debut in Carolina during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The big Russian blueliner finished seventh place in the voting for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, nabbing a pair of third-place votes, 14 fourth-place votes and 40 fifth-place votes. He was also named to the NHL’s all-rookie team, joining Calder winner Matthew Schaefer as one of the team’s two defensemen.
If Nikishin is traded, he would be just the second player from Carolina’s Cup-winning roster to depart the organization this offseason, joining goalie Frederik Andersen, who signed with the Edmonton Oilers as an unrestricted free agent.
