In the history of the Carolina Hurricanes, there are few contract negotiations that have felt as tense and standoffish as those between the team and Alexander Nikishin. Since winning the Stanley Cup in June, it felt like the team was heading for a breakup with the defenseman, with assertions that Nikishin was done in Raleigh. It turns out that wasn't quite the case.
The Hurricanes announced a one-year extension on Sunday evening, bringing Nikishin back into the fold on a deal worth $3 million. It brings the four-month stalemate to a conclusion, getting Nikishin back on the ice while allowing the Canes to either convince him that Raleigh is where he wants to be or prolong their efforts to find a trade partner while increasing his value.
Around the draft, Nikishin was being used as part of negotiations for Connor Hellebuyck, but that fell through when Nikishin's camp said that he wouldn't sign there. During this process, Nikishin changed agents, which was probably the smartest thing he could've done. Quotes from his representation seemed to evoke an air of narcissism, leading us to think he wasn't getting good guidance.
The word "leverage" is thrown around when players want to be traded. Often, those players have trade or movement protections that prevent their teams from just shipping them somewhere else. Nikishin had none of that. The Canes held all of the cards. He was finishing his entry-level deal and wasn't offer sheet eligible. With this one-year deal, Nikishin will be eligible next summer.
From an on-ice perspective, this move makes the Canes better. Nikishin had the best rookie season of any blueliner in team history, scoring 11 goals and 33 points on his way to an All-Rookie team selection. He was held to one assist during the team's Stanley Cup run, missing two games with a concussion, but he got to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup in his first season in the NHL.
There's the other side of me that wonders what the reception will be from the locker room and the fans alike. I'm less concerned about the team welcoming him back. Hockey, at the end of the day, is a business. However, it was made abundantly clear that Nikishin asked for a change of scenery and the blessing to find a trade. By all accounts, he didn't want to be here. The fans aren't keen on that.
This feels like a rehashing of the same things we saw with Martin Necas, though the comparison is not one-for-one. I mean this in the sense that Nikishin will remain the subject of trade rumors until something happens. Necas trade rumors were circling for years before the team finally sent him to Colorado last January. It feels like we'll be doing the same thing until Nikishin is eventually traded.
We're 13 games into the new season, so Nikishin is already a little behind the 8-ball for the defending champions. I'm not expecting a quick transition back into the lineup. It'll be interesting to see how Rod Brind'Amour opts to deploy him, especially since that seemed to be the crux of the issue. He doesn't want to be on the third pair. Will the Canes' bench boss oblige? We'll have to wait and see.
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