Confirmed with Link: D - Alexander Nikishin signs 2 year ELC

[bleedgreen]

Dont know if Nikishin will be a superstar in the NHL but I am 100% confident that he will be a great piece to our lineup and will be at minimun solid top4 defenceman with size, mean attitude and offensive upside.

I agree completely. I set my expectation level at he’s a top four guy who can take Orlov’s place. If he’s more, fantastic but I’m not going to be upset if “that’s all” he is.

 

[robbieberns]

I think he’ll need time to bed in to the league and this team, but I honestly predict a Pietrangelo kind of career for him. Handful of fourth place Norris votes, but an incredibly consistent career as a bonafide number 1 who has a great two way game but maybe not a guy who hits the 70+ points that Norris guys normally hit.

 

[JustPenalties]

I agree completely. I set my expectation level at he’s a top four guy who can take Orlov’s place. If he’s more, fantastic but I’m not going to be upset if “that’s all” he is.

At the moment ”that’s all” is pretty much what we need and if we can do it with a third round draft.. its a solid win and we should take it as that.

 

[bleedgreen]

At the moment ”that’s all” is pretty much what we need and if we can do it with a third round draft.. its a solid win and we should take it as that.

Im more concerned about Morrow being an NHL player. I watched him a lot on college and I was unconvinced by the time he was done. He has the size, the skating, he can hold onto the puck….but he has so little brain for the game and plays so immaturely it’s no gimmie he can play for this team.

 

[WreckingCrew]

Im more concerned about Morrow being an NHL player. I watched him a lot on college and I was unconvinced by the time he was done. He has the size, the skating, he can hold onto the puck….but he has so little brain for the game and plays so immaturely it’s no gimmie he can play for this team.

Honestly if we can trade him while his value is high (which we may have tanked playing Florida), do it...it's either that or he REALLY needs to commit to developing his defensive game because he's worse than TDA at his worst right now

 

[Nikishin al Gaib]

Im more concerned about Morrow being an NHL player. I watched him a lot on college and I was unconvinced by the time he was done. He has the size, the skating, he can hold onto the puck….but he has so little brain for the game and plays so immaturely it’s no gimmie he can play for this team.

After this past week I am very concerned that he's just not an NHL player. Its rare that we see a defenseman look completely overwhelmed in our scheme given we play a complete team defense that should help everyone out. He looked overwhelmed

 

[bleedgreen]

Honestly if we can trade him while his value is high (which we may have tanked playing Florida), do it...it's either that or he REALLY needs to commit to developing his defensive game because he's worse than TDA at his worst right now

I was hoping he was the price for Jake, and I’m still annoyed we let those other guys go. My concern now is that the league saw how raw he is, he was undoubtedly worth more after the season he put up in the AHL and before the world saw him look like a deer in the headlights this series.

Bigger problem is that we really needed more young legs coming up. You see what a difference having young legs up front has made for this team on forward. I have no doubt it would do similar for the defense. We’re getting old back there. Nikishin helps but we need more. I’ve never liked our stance against D in the first round. Lots of good defenseman go in the 20’s, it’s usually a great time to pick a good one. At forward you’re lucky to get a Nadeau, who isn’t defensive minded and is small. As great as the shot is he’s a project. Every now and then taking a defenseman is a good idea.

We still have Badinka and the others coming up, but it’s not quite enough and none look like they’re top four guys at this point.

 

[DaveG]

Im more concerned about Morrow being an NHL player. I watched him a lot on college and I was unconvinced by the time he was done. He has the size, the skating, he can hold onto the puck….but he has so little brain for the game and plays so immaturely it’s no gimmie he can play for this team.

yep, right now it's looking like Jack Johnson syndrome. Guy has all the physical tools to make you think he'd be an absolute stud, though not the nasty edge that Jack had, but also plays like a frigin rover rather than within a system and that might flat out be a processing issue. If he can't adapt then sell while his value is at its highest because not adapting would make his actual value more like a poor man's Ghost.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

You have to wonder if Morrow was battling an LBI. Visually, he was laboring on puck chases. According to the EDGE data, his top speed was just 19.35 mph. It was 21.48 mph in the regular season with 7 20 mph bursts.

 

[bleedgreen]

Maybe, but how I feel about the guy has nothing to do with the playoffs. I know that’s just me, but telling me he was hurt in the playoffs wouldn't change how I view him as a realistic player for us moving forward.

He can get there, it’s just hoping for a lot of growth. A lot more than the average player needs.

 

[Buenos Necas]

Bleed has been sounding the siren about Morrow's ability to play defense at this level for long enough now that I watched a couple of his UMass games last year and definitely understood the concern. It was a tough spot for a rookie no doubt, but this series didn't do much of anything to assuage those concerns. I'm sure we've all learned enough over the years to not judge a defenseman's development before he's had sufficient run in the league, but there's enough smoke to be concerned about his ability to put all of the pieces together.

It should be off the table at this point to considering having both him and Nikishin in the starting 6 in the fall. I think he still holds good trade value based on his raw tools and the position he plays, but like others have said, I wouldn't think twice about packaging him with the extra 1sts/3rds to find a more veteran RHD who can make an immediate impact over the next few seasons.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Defensemen are historically later bloomers than other positions, and their mistakes are amplified. Nikishin didn't exactly cover himself in glory at the end of Game 5.

Scott Morrow is 22 and has played 16 games in the NHL. I think it's a little bit early to make any pronouncements about him yet.

We can trade him, I'm fine with that, but sometimes you end up trading a young D who becomes Gus Forsling.

 

[JustPenalties]

I was hoping he was the price for Jake, and I’m still annoyed we let those other guys go. My concern now is that the league saw how raw he is, he was undoubtedly worth more after the season he put up in the AHL and before the world saw him look like a deer in the headlights this series.

Bigger problem is that we really needed more young legs coming up. You see what a difference having young legs up front has made for this team on forward. I have no doubt it would do similar for the defense. We’re getting old back there. Nikishin helps but we need more. I’ve never liked our stance against D in the first round. Lots of good defenseman go in the 20’s, it’s usually a great time to pick a good one. At forward you’re lucky to get a Nadeau, who isn’t defensive minded and is small. As great as the shot is he’s a project. Every now and then taking a defenseman is a good idea.

We still have Badinka and the others coming up, but it’s not quite enough and none look like they’re top four guys at this point.

I wouldnt worry about it too much, we have a lot of assets and we are pretty good at getting the maximum out of some free agents etc.

Anyways I am pretty confident that during the next season Nikishin will get plenty of time on ice and the results will come. Like I said earlier in this thread, I have watched maybe 20 of he’s KHL games and there’s a reason why he was the youngest captain in the SKA history etc. etc. Like this is not just Carolina fanboys hyping but it is pretty big deal in Russia. Someone in this thread said that KHL lost a lot of quality because of the war and thats true, but still, its no university league or anything and if you can do all that in the KHL youre probably going to have a decent career in the NHL.

 

[JustPenalties]

Defensemen are historically later bloomers than other positions, and their mistakes are amplified. Nikishin didn't exactly cover himself in glory at the end of Game 5.

Scott Morrow is 22 and has played 16 games in the NHL. I think it's a little bit early to make any pronouncements about him yet.

We can trade him, I'm fine with that, but sometimes you end up trading a young D who becomes Gus Forsling.

Sure the game 5 was not great. But C’mon, one game against Washington and after that it is this Florida team in the conference finals. Overall he played really well in the series and definetly wasnt the reason why we lost. Lets give him like 30 games in the NHL and youll see.

 

[bleedgreen]

I wouldnt worry about it too much, we have a lot of assets and we are pretty good at getting the maximum out of some free agents etc.

Anyways I am pretty confident that during the next season Nikishin will get plenty of time on ice and the results will come. Like I said earlier in this thread, I have watched maybe 20 of he’s KHL games and there’s a reason why he was the youngest captain in the SKA history etc. etc. Like this is not just Carolina fanboys hyping but it is pretty big deal in Russia. Someone in this thread said that KHL lost a lot of quality because of the war and thats true, but still, its no university league or anything and if you can do all that in the KHL youre probably going to have a decent career in the NHL.

I’ve no doubt Nikishin will be a good NHL’er. All the speculation beyond that is what I tend to get over pretty quickly.

It’s day one of the off season for us. Time to vent a little spleen so we can regroup for what will be, at the very least….an interesting couple of weeks of team building.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Sure the game 5 was not great. But C’mon, one game against Washington and after that it is this Florida team in the conference finals. Overall he played really well in the series and definetly wasnt the reason why we lost. Lets give him like 30 games in the NHL and youll see.

That's exactly my point. Even very good young players are prone to making mistakes that cost their teams, and both Nikishin and Morrow finished an identical -5 in the playoffs -- not that you'd know it from the breathless hype about the one, and the over the top condemnation of the other.

Neither Nikishin nor Morrow were the reasons we lost, but neither one of them would have been on the ice were it not for injuries. Nor should they have been. They're not everyday NHL players yet. That's just the fact. Next year, they probably will be.

 

[Nikishin al Gaib]

That's exactly my point. Even very good young players are prone to making mistakes that cost their teams, and both Nikishin and Morrow finished an identical -5 in the playoffs -- not that you'd know it from the breathless hype about the one, and the over the top condemnation of the other.

Neither Nikishin nor Morrow were the reasons we lost, but neither one of them would have been on the ice were it not for injuries. Nor should they have been. They're not everyday NHL players yet. That's just the fact. Next year, they probably will be.

To be fair, a significant portion of that -5 for Nikishin was because he has the unfortunate luck of being on the ice with Orlov.

A significant portion of that -5 for Morrow was for his own play in Game 1.

 

[JustPenalties]

I’ve no doubt Nikishin will be a good NHL’er. All the speculation beyond that is what I tend to get over pretty quickly.

It’s day one of the off season for us. Time to vent a little spleen so we can regroup for what will be, at the very least….an interesting couple of weeks of team building.

It truly is interesting. Lots of cap opening, we have a lot of assets to trade and on top of that we actually have quality players with rookie contracts… and that might help A LOT when building a stanley cup team.

And talking about assets.. Out of nowhere we have a guy like Blake that we can trade with a pretty good value. I actually hope we find him a role, but it cant be in the first line or in the first power play. But if we trade him we have to remember that its basically just a bonus and totally unexpected win.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

To be fair, a significant portion of that -5 for Nikishin was because he has the unfortunate luck of being on the ice with Orlov.

A significant portion of that -5 for Morrow was for his own play in Game 1.

orlov on his off-hand side, at that

an actual RD probably doesn't get dogwalked on the 4-3 goal like orlov did because their stick would naturally be in better position to break that up

 

[bleedgreen]

It truly is interesting. Lots of cap opening, we have a lot of assets to trade and on top of that we actually have quality players with rookie contracts… and that might help A LOT when building a stanley cup team.

And talking about assets.. Out of nowhere we have a guy like Blake that we can trade with a pretty good value. I actually hope we find him a role, but it cant be in the first line or in the first power play. But if we trade him we have to remember that its basically just a bonus and totally unexpected win.

I don’t see any sense in trading any young player who’s made the team like Blake or Stank. For sure he’s a bonus but he’s a very welcome relief. You need cheap internal help.

I don’t think there’s a ton of help out there this season. Definitely not in free agency. Maybe in trade? I could see it being a bit of a frustrating off season just because we have cap space but maybe not enough options.

 

[Nikishin al Gaib]

I don’t see any sense in trading any young player who’s made the team like Blake or Stank. For sure he’s a bonus but he’s a very welcome relief. You need cheap internal help.

I don’t think there’s a ton of help out there this season. Definitely not in free agency. Maybe in trade? I could see it being a bit of a frustrating off season just because we have cap space but maybe not enough options.

I need to see Blake hit the gym hard this summer and bulk up to get a little stronger on his skates. He seemed to get blown up way too easily this year, and especially the playoffs. Once he gets strong, he's going to be a bull to play against.

Stank is everything we want. Max extend him now, the contract will look cheap in a year or 2.

 

[ViD]

Gotta admit he completely blew his defensive coverage on the Rodriguez goal.

The GWG is hard to blame on him since Robinson lost his man, but you would think Nikishin should’ve been deeper in the slot to block a cross crease pass

 

[chaz4hockey]

I wouldnt worry about it too much, we have a lot of assets and we are pretty good at getting the maximum out of some free agents etc.

Anyways I am pretty confident that during the next season Nikishin will get plenty of time on ice and the results will come. Like I said earlier in this thread, I have watched maybe 20 of he’s KHL games and there’s a reason why he was the youngest captain in the SKA history etc. etc. Like this is not just Carolina fanboys hyping but it is pretty big deal in Russia. Someone in this thread said that KHL lost a lot of quality because of the war and thats true, but still, its no university league or anything and if you can do all that in the KHL youre probably going to have a decent career in the NHL.

agreed....league down or not there are still a bunch of great players coming out of Russia. If 21 can star there, then that's an endorsement for me.

 

[htdoc]

Gotta admit he completely blew his defensive coverage on the Rodriguez goal.

The GWG is hard to blame on him since Robinson lost his man, but you would think Nikishin should’ve been deeper in the slot to block a cross crease pass

Robinson abandoned the front of the net because he saw Orlov not able to hand,e his man coverage behind the net. But made the decision way too late, created a 2 canes on one 1 panther and still didn’t stop a pass right to Verhague and left Nikishin all alone to have to rotate down off his man coverage to cover the wide open spot vacated by Robinson for blowing his coverage.

Rodrigues got past him and his stick tie up only partially worked. Blame can go to him on that. But the 4th goal was not remotely on Nikishin. He did what he was told and covered his man. He got minus strikes for the play of the others on the ice. It’s why we always complain about the plus minus stat being a bad measure that doesn’t really tell you the whole story. Orlov not being big enough and physical enough to handle the load in the corner is partly handedness and mostly just size and physicality and why many of us have been so annoying with the repetitive calls for bigger more physical dmen bodies to handle the playoffs.

Brindy worked miracles with the players he had thus year. He rightly deserves criticism for sticking too long with things before making changes. Whether that is loyalty or stubbornness etc. they did make changes in game 4 and 5 that were successful and made me more aggravated that it took until then to make the shift while beating our heads against the wall doing the same things poorly the first few games. I never want to hold up Edmonton as a beacon of excellence for anything.. but they make micro changes and line adjustments non stop based on situations. It’s dizzying at times to see the sub,the things they do. But they know how to win playoff hockey even with a less than perfect roster. Canes have not adjusted well to the differences of playoff hockey and eventually we hit the wall when it gets tighter and tighter and more and more physical on the d side.

Florida had very few legit high danger chances last night but finished almost all of them when they did get the shots. Canes duffed theirs and couldn’t finish them. Again the power play stunk. The PK gave up time,y goals that can’t happen if you expect to win these playoff games.

Nikishin may have had the same +/- as Morrow but there is no comparison between the two players at this current time. Maybe they will develop and be different in time… but right now? One can actually play basic defense. One has no clue who they are supposed to cover in the zone.

We have buckets of cap space next season. We could struggle to hit the cap floor depending on what the GM decides to do. There is zero excuse for us to again fail for a third year in a row to have a big strapping mean defensive RD and LD dman who is 6’4”+ and heavy to be ready to step in when again one of our regular guys get hurt…. Or we better have the coaching staff purposely use 20+ games next season to make dmen play their off side for entire games or portions of games to practice for this kind of thing. We could stick 15M worth of extras in the press box for extra guys to be ready to step in for playoffs.

I would be trying to convince Nikishin to sign an 8 year extension this summer. Lock him up now.

 

[chaz4hockey]

^^^^^
Agree on Robinson's weak effort on GW goal. If it had been a Panther they would have blasted the guy coming out of the corner whereas Robinson just tried a stick check. 50 played a good game with jankowski last night but in the playoffs you just can't make those mistakes.

One item that we have not 'crabbed' enough (I know it's a loser's lament but it's a fact) about is that Cats use of LTIR due to Tkachuk's injury allowed them to add both Marchand and Jones. Without them, Canes would have had a much better shot.