Rumor: Alexander Nikishin contract dispute?

[MoneyManny]

Per the CBA he wouldn't be eligible to play in the AHL had the deal been registered, so the plan was to delay that to give him the option as long as they were still playing. But now that they're eliminated, that's not a factor anymore, so they completed it

As stated by the GM that would happen earlier this week. Like, I get wanting to dunk on the franchise, but Jesus, they were as transparent as anyone could possibly ask and that's apparently not good enough

That makes sense thanks for the answer.

 

[nbwingsfan]

I don't agree with a lot of his decisions. I just dont think i'm a better coach than him, and a lot of this thread has been directed at the Canes organization in general when it should be about RBA and his decision to not play the guy. The amount of success he's had as our coach goes pretty far beyond that one title which should be inherent and obvious but sure....coaches who only had one good season have also won the award. Strong point?

If you follow the team or the coach at all it was obvious the guy wasnt going to just jump in was the actual point and that the coach has earned that right. Even if the mob disagrees.

Have they had that much success to not question anything he does? They’ve yet to win a single rd 3 game despite being contenders the whole time

 

[bleedgreen]

Have they had that much success to not question anything he does? They’ve yet to win a single rd 3 game despite being contenders the whole time

I’ve said multiple times I question the guy so I hope that’s not directed at me. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect what’s been accomplished.

After ten years of suck making the playoffs every year and winning at least one round every single time makes them one of the most consistent teams in the NHL at being near the top. All under him. So yeah, that’s a decent amount of success. They’ve done it all without a superstar, minimal offensive talent, middling goaltending without sinking their cap with a single crippling contract. They just lost their second pair amongst others, and despite what most of us thought they still made the playoffs easily in what is a transition year.

 

[HydratedByStormBrew]

Would be incredibly expensive for a guy who’s still a mystery box at the end of the day. Too risky for me.

Guarantee they’d be asking for one of the following:

Slafkovsky+
Reinbacher++
Demidov
Hage + both 1st round picks in ‘25

I might consider the last one, but that’s also the one CAR would likely be least interested in. All the others would be a non-starter for me.

Those are all non starters for Carolina fans as well.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Those are all non starters for Carolina fans as well.

Lol. They wouldn’t be if Nikishin refused to sign, which was the hypothetical scenario. What do you think CAR would get in that situation? There’s no way in hell it would be more than those.

 

[HydratedByStormBrew]

Lol. They wouldn’t be if Nikishin refused to sign, which was the hypothetical scenario. What do you think CAR would get in that situation? There’s no way in hell it would be more than those.

I’m not interested in any trade hypotheticals from Montreal for him, Nikishin is untouchable.

 

[Garbageyuk]

I’m not interested in any trade hypotheticals from Montreal for him, Nikishin is untouchable.

So then why did you comment? This wasn’t a proposal. It was a discussion about a hypothetical scenario.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Have they had that much success to not question anything he does? They’ve yet to win a single rd 3 game despite being contenders the whole time

This narrative of ‘they’ve been contenders the whole time RBA has been coach’ is just not true.

18-19 season they were projected to be terrible and they squeaked into the 8 seed and upset the caps on route to making the ECF.

The next year was COVID year 1 and when things shut down they were pacing to be something like a 7 seed.

In COVID year 2 they narrowly won their weirdo division and you could say they were a truly good team but also that was a bizzaro year with all sorts of nonsense happening. Take from that what you will

21-22, 22-23, 23-24… yes, 100% the team was elite and firmly considered contenders. Made the ECF once in this time. 2nd round exit the other two times.

This year there was tons of turnover and it was expected them to take a step or two back while they re-tooled and transitioned to have new younger players come in this year and next.

So I’m not disagreeing with you that they’ve been contenders for a decent portion of Rods tenure as coach but that’s also what he BUILT them into being, not what he was given. At Christmas in his first season they were one of the worst teams in the league.

He deserves whatever amount of leeway in his decision making that he would like based on the results he’s gotten, as mentioned, without any superstar players, constant goalie reclamation carousel, and constant player turnover.

 

[mc1laren]

Nikishin, Jarvis, 1st in 2025 and 1st in 2026

For

Quinn Hughes

Who says no?

Hughes/Slavin pair for the Hurricanes and they still have more than enough cap to go for top UFA this season.

Vancouver gets a top 6 impact forward and Nikishin and Willander would make for a great 1st pair for Vancouver in the coming years as they build towards a contender (as long as they live upto the potential). Canucks also get two firsts to go get a top 6 C they need (someone like Dvorsky or Barzal or Horvat or Larkin or Johnston or whoever else they can think of)

 

[the halleJOKEL]

Nikishin, Jarvis, 1st in 2025 and 1st in 2026

For

Quinn Hughes

Who says no?

Hughes/Slavin pair for the Hurricanes and they still have more than enough cap to go for top UFA this season.

Vancouver gets a top 6 impact forward and Nikishin and Willander would make for a great 1st pair for Vancouver in the coming years as they build towards a contender (as long as they live upto the potential). Canucks also get two firsts to go get a top 6 C they need (someone like Dvorsky or Barzal or Horvat or Larkin or Johnston or whoever else they can think of)

Carolina easily says no, Hughes is just going to the devils in a couple years. This is horrific asset management.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Carolina easily says no, Hughes is just going to the devils in a couple years. This is horrific asset management.

Even if there isn't any threat of him leaving the team as a FA, I doubt Carolina will trade Nikishin before it knows who they have. I mean, if Nikishin is a Hedman type of defensmen trading him for whoever will be a big failure.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

Even if there isn't any threat of him leaving the team as a FA, I doubt Carolina will trade Nikishin before it knows who they have. I mean, if Nikishin is a Hedman type of defensmen trading him for whoever will be a big failure.

right, that wasn't even a comment on the value of the proposal. that is an insane number of years of team control across 4 assets for 2 years of quinn hughes

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Even if there isn't any threat of him leaving the team as a FA, I doubt Carolina will trade Nikishin before it knows who they have. I mean, if Nikishin is a Hedman type of defensmen trading him for whoever will be a big failure.

All information up to this point suggests the Canes view Nikishin as a core piece in the mold of Aho, Slavin, Jarvis and will never consider trading him. Of course depends how well his transition to NA hockey goes but I’m pretty confident he’ll prove he belongs in that franchise player conversation sooner rather than later.

 

[Ole Gil]

I like how many fans keep bringing Demidov in this lol.. Demidov has nothing to do with this Nikishin/Canes saga so stop trying to brag about your rookie in every single thread. My goodness it’s insane lol

Very different circumstances. Unlike Montreal, Carolina will have a chance to play Nikishin in the 2nd round.

 

[MoneyManny]

When they say Habs fans overrate their players, remember that Canes fans wouldn't trade their prospect for Quinn Hughes lol.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

When they say Habs fans overrate their players, remember that Canes fans wouldn't trade their prospect for Quinn Hughes lol.

You mean the Quinn Hughes who is likely just a 2 year rental?

 

[MoneyManny]

You mean the Quinn Hughes who is likely just a 2 year rental?

If you believe he'll run off to NJ as soon as he can. I think it makes no sense for him to go over and cannibalize on Luke's deployments.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

If you believe he'll run off to NJ as soon as he can. I think it makes no sense for him to go over and cannibalize on Luke's deployments.

Yeah I'm sure that's Quinn's biggest concern

 

[bleedgreen]

When they say Habs fans overrate their players, remember that Canes fans wouldn't trade their prospect for Quinn Hughes lol.

I would’ve traded him for Q Hughes, we all don’t drink from the same cool aid. I think Nikishin is a great young dman but I would trade him for a Hughes or a top forward if we had a long term commitment from that player. If it was an extended rental like it would be now, hell no.

 

[Ezpz]

I don't have a horse in this race and I don't get it. What makes him overrated? I think Hutson has exceeded everyone's expectations and many people still struggle to accept how good he is, just like people struggled to accept Karlsson back in his prime. But again, how does that make Nikishin overrated?

I don't care personally, as I think Nikishin is a great prospect, but maybe it's because a KHL star dman has never crossed over successfully?

The top 10 greatest Russian dmen list hasn't had a new member in 10+ years and every big name Russian D prospect fails to live up to the hype. I don't know if it's a system thing or what but only Montreal-drafted Russian dmen have lived up to their hype in Sergachev and Romanov. Provorov is far below what he was advertised as. Orlov and Zadorov the same. Zaitsev had Panarin-level hype for a hot minute. Mintyukov isn't really a stud.

Markov is probably the last guy to earn a spot on the top 10 list. Sergachev may get there. Who knows if Sergachev would have even panned out if he didn't play behind Hedman for so long.

Then there's the whole Chris Wideman won best KHL d by a wide margin and couldn't carve out a regular spot on a Habs team that finished dead last. D in the KHL just doesn't have a good way to identify crossover success because it isn't common.

Nikishin's profile just doesn't have a comparable Russian player to even gauge potential success on. Most of the Russians coming over have had to sacrifice parts of their game to be effective. None seem to be able to keep the physical play and offense.

Emelin is a good example of a do-everything guy who came in to be a physical beast, got way too penalized for clean hits, and stopped making crazy breakout passes in favour of a vanilla short pass smart play only game. He was a better player before he got a second of NHL coaching than when he was playing top four minutes. He came in, kept his head down, got to the 400 games played full amount NHL pension and then went home. He was an absolute menace his final year in the KHL and even won the Gagarin cup in his final two years as the #1D in minutes played.

But almost universally no Russian D has just step into the NHL and immediately looked normal. There hasn't been a single dman version of Kaprizov, Panarin, Ovechkin, Malkin, etc.

 

[Baksfamous112]

I can’t wait to see him in action. I think he will fit right in

 

[SoundAndFury]

I don't care personally, as I think Nikishin is a great prospect, but maybe it's because a KHL star dman has never crossed over successfully?

But there were basically no drafted defensemen out of the KHL who reached his level. Who's even his closest comparable? Yes, a bunch of undrafted guys like Zaitsev or Antipin were stars in the KHL but their pedigree was very different.

I don't think the fact he has no comparables makes him overrated.

 

[MoneyManny]

Yeah I'm sure that's Quinn's biggest concern

I mean, how many brothers really reunite on the same team unless they were drafted by the same team?

Not every brothers want to stick together their entire lives.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I mean, how many brothers really reunite on the same team unless they were drafted by the same team?

The Staals did it multiple times. Scott Neidermayer did it too.

More recently:

The Benn brothers
Nylander brothers
Jones brothers

It's literally happened like a dozen times lol

 

[RedHawkDown]

You talking about Cup like just right after the Habs one..

Try to talk down 1993, when 2 out of 4 Cups were in 96-97 and 97-98.... Is the same period than 93 and a while ago..

Grats Red Wings won 1 cup since the cap era... Habs went to 1 Final.

Doesn't change the fact you had the shittiest evalutation of Hutson and talked about o-zone start and Quality of Competition

Nobody that has a great knowledge of the game of hockey will use those useless shit.

Open your TV and tune in. He was the best player last game both defensively and offensively.

I still see the Pronger comparison for Nikishin. Thats one of the worst freaking NHL comparable of all time.

Try Ekholm.

I've watched all the games. He's played very well the last game, and was dominant for sure. Doesn't change the fact that he was highly sheltered during the regular season. Try taking off your rose-colored glasses.