The New York Rangers had an eventful NHL Draft weekend, highlighted by the stunning trade for Vegas Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev. That came after failed pursuits of the likes of Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Larkin, and Mason McTavish. During the draft itself, it was evident that the Rangers were prioritizing stocking up their prospect pipeline with defensemen, highlighted by Alberts Smits, who was selected with the fifth overall pick.
Even though the Rangers added five defensemen through the draft, general manager Chris Drury was trying to add a young player from a division rival.
The Carolina Hurricanes are in the midst of an offseason where they are trying to defend their recently won Stanley Cup title. While adding the signing rights to John Carlson, the Hurricanes are open to trading away restricted free agent Alexander Nikishin. In fact, they have had talks with numerous teams, with Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman noting during a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast that the Rangers were making a real push for Nikishin.
The Hurricanes wanted more than draft picks for Nikishin
“It's really interesting. Carolina has Nikishin out there. That's definitely true. I heard the Rangers made a pitch for him pretty hard," said Friedman. "But Carolina, at least until this happened, and I don't know if this changes anything. I honestly don't know. They didn't just want picks back for Nikishin. They wanted a player and a player that was helpful. We'll see what happens.”
It's unknown what the exact offer the Rangers made for Nikishin, and if it would have affected their draft plans. Either way, a deal did not happen. Could both sides reconvene?
Nikishin is a left-shot defenseman who is caught in the bit of a log jam in Carolina due to how stacked the depth chart is. Now due for a new contract, the Hurricanes were open to trading him before July 1, as teams would then have to sign him to an offer sheet.
This past season with the Hurricanes, his first in the NHL, Nikishin recorded 11 goals, 22 assists, a plus-18 plus/minus rating, 132 hits, 94 blocked shots, and 26 takeaways in 81 games with an average ice time of 18:11. In the playoffs, Nikishin posted one assist, 25 hits, nine blocked shots, and a minus-1 plus/minus rating in 17 games, where he averaged 14:50 of ice time.
As for what Nikishin could earn on a new contract, AFP Analytics projects that he could earn a six-year deal, with an annual cap hit of $6.44 million.
Free agency officially begins on July 1, so the market should be moving. It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes will be able to find an adequate enough offer for Nikishin to move him before the opening of free agency. Will the Rangers try to acquire Nikishin again? Or are they moving forward with their draft haul of defensemen?
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