Alexander Nikishin is the Carolina Hurricanes’ lone remaining free agent, and there isn’t a rush
The Sheet with Jeff Marek: Cory Lavalette, the Carolina Hurricanes running it back, minus Frederik Andersen, and there is no rush to get RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin re-signed. An eventual bridge deal will likely be the outcome.
Marek: “It went from can they do it to they did it, and then the next stop is, can they do it again? Freddie Anderson is no longer with the team, but is, is this basically, to your understanding, this like they’re quote unquote running this thing back?
Lavalette: It looks like it. You know, the big thing that has been hanging out there is the Alexander Nikishin situation, and what I tell people, especially with these RFAs that don’t have any arb rights, everything you hear from front offices when it’s those kind of players is there’s really no rush. Like we don’t need to have this player signed in July.
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Kind of reminds me a lot of the Martin Necas situation, where there was so much smoke all the time at the draft, after the draft. And I, I kind of feel like maybe we end up with the same conclusion, which is a bridge deal that is reasonable for both sides. And, you know, in a couple years Nikishin’s going to get a chance to cash in, whether that’s, you know, here in Raleigh or somewhere else.
So to me, I think the Nikishin thing, I think they’re smart in not trying to die, you know, this team takes a lot of risks with long-term deals. You know, everybody knocks them for the (Jesperi) Kotkaniemi deal, and I know the front office’s mindset is, ‘Hey, if we take five swings and three of them work, we’re ahead. You know, if we have two that don’t, but three that do, you know.’ And I mean, that’s, that’s the (Jackson) Blake deal and the (Logan) Stankoven deal, and you know, all those kind of things.”
NHLRumors.com notes: The Carolina Hurricanes have just under $9.9 million in projected salary cap space with a 21-man roster. Nikishin is their lone remaining RFA. There have been reports of the 24-year-old wanting $8 million a season.
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