The wait is over: Nikishin is on the way

[Ekiru]

They’re not talking about assigning him to the A for a season. It’s a matter of having a completely healthy D group so there’s no spot for him to slot into. Who are they going to send to the press box in order to play a rookie — Ghost? Chatfield? Walker? Orlov? Those aren’t pressbox players, they’re all solid second pair talent where Chatfield is the junior member with 250 games under his belt.

So they’re holding on to see if it makes sense to send him to the A for a handful of games as a matter of conditioning, rather than have him continue to be a black ace eating popcorn.

The only person in a position to yap about this is the KHL agent, who sees an opening to entice a high-paying customer back to his agency. Nikishin is not the one making noise here. He’s the guy in the room with Tulsky and RBA, and if he isn’t completely naive he understands that this was always going to be about slotting in for someone’s injury situation. It’s a sideshow drama.

I agree with all of this

Issue is it, unfortunately, isnt Nikishin's problem (well, or at least it doesnt have to be if he doesnt want it to be. He has that right)

I do think this gets resolved without much issue as you say; but Im not so sure Carolina having a stacked defense is a valid reason for Nikishin, but instead only for the Hurricanes

 

[bleedgreen]

It's pretty clear the Canes wanted him to come over A) to get used to the environment so he's a bit more comfortable next season and B) for playoff depth

Right now they don't need him and don't want to sign the contract so he can keep shape playing some AHL games. But if a regular gets hurt he's definitely gonna be in.

Doesn't seem that difficult to me. If they communicated something different then that's bad, but I have a hard time seeing Tulsky promised a roster spot for game 1 of the playoffs when their d-core is healthy and set.

There’s zero chance he was guaranteed that.

 

[Ezpz]

The question is, on the way to where?

 

[Garbageyuk]

The question is, on the way to where?

Back to Russia. It’s a round trip.

 

[tarheelhockey]

AHL Chicago’s season is over, and the Canes just lost in 2OT, so there is every reason to expect his contract to get wrapped up and possibly Nikishin in the lineup by Sunday.

 

[pandro]

Would be hilarious to see Nikishin plummet from the best player outside the NHL to a bum that no one wanted anyway on the Canes board in case he doesn't sign.

 

[ViD]

Would be hilarious to see Nikishin plummet from the best player outside the NHL to a bum that no one wanted anyway on the Canes board in case he doesn't sign.

The bums will be the Canes board if they f*** it up, he will play for someone else

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

They’re not talking about assigning him to the A for a season. It’s a matter of having a completely healthy D group so there’s no spot for him to slot into. Who are they going to send to the press box in order to play a rookie — Ghost? Chatfield? Walker? Orlov? Those aren’t pressbox players, they’re all solid second pair talent where Chatfield is the junior member with 250 games under his belt.

So they’re holding on to see if it makes sense to send him to the A for a handful of games as a matter of conditioning, rather than have him continue to be a black ace eating popcorn.

The only person in a position to yap about this is the KHL agent, who sees an opening to entice a high-paying customer back to his agency. Nikishin is not the one making noise here. He’s the guy in the room with Tulsky and RBA, and if he isn’t completely naive he understands that this was always going to be about slotting in for someone’s injury situation. It’s a sideshow drama.

If this prospect is as elite as stated i cannot imagine he cannot surpass the impact of any of those names you listed who are thriving in the Carolina system. Perhaps aside from veteran Orlov.

 

[bleedgreen]

Would be hilarious to see Nikishin plummet from the best player outside the NHL to a bum that no one wanted anyway on the Canes board in case he doesn't sign.

As a Canes I don’t think for a second there’s an actual issue with him being signed, and also as a Canes fan I never just assumed he’d be a long time Hurricane. There’s hope but not assumption.

You’re lumping a lot of generalities at the Canes board.

 

[bleedgreen]

If this prospect is as elite as stated i cannot imagine he cannot surpass the impact of any of those names you listed who are thriving in the Carolina system. Perhaps aside from veteran Orlov.

Not everyone assumes he’s elite. He’s been rated as a higher level prospect for a few years. There’s really only a couple of posters that project he’s going to be a monster top pair dman. He’s a mystery box, just one wrapped in pretty packaging.

I’m just hoping he’s a solid top four guy, we need it. If he’s more that’s fantastic.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Not everyone assumes he’s elite. He’s been rated as a higher level prospect for a few years. There’s really only a couple of posters that project he’s going to be a monster top pair dman. He’s a mystery box, just one wrapped in pretty packaging.

I’m just hoping he’s a solid top four guy, we need it. If he’s more that’s fantastic.

Big nasty top4 defenseman is like a pretty valueable asset in the NHL nowadays. And if he's even more than just this... Anyway, I don't understand the way this franchise works. I understood what Montreal did, I don't understand what Carolina does. Their explanation about AHL looks complete shit to me.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Big nasty top4 defenseman is like a pretty valueable asset in the NHL nowadays. And if he's even more than just this... Anyway, I don't understand the way this franchise works. I understood what Montreal did, I don't understand what Carolina does. Their explanation about AHL looks complete shit to me.

Well the AHL season ended last night and they immediately registered the contract today so what else do you think it was?

 

[Ezpz]

Well the AHL season ended last night and they immediately registered the contract today so what else do you think it was?

It might have been their idea but nikishins Russian agent wouldn't have said anything if nikishin was in the loop about that. No way he asked to have his contract terminated early to come over and play ahl games.

 

[RedHawkDown]

It's truly hilarious that they think the 23-year old captain of the best KHL team would want to come to NA and play in the f***ing AHL playoffs. It's insulting.

Nikishin should be fed top-4 minutes from the get-go. This is like if Minnesota asked Kaprizov to play in the AHL first.

 

[tarheelhockey]

If this prospect is as elite as stated i cannot imagine he cannot surpass the impact of any of those names you listed who are thriving in the Carolina system. Perhaps aside from veteran Orlov.

You can’t imagine why it would be an issue to scratch a veteran top-4 NHL defenseman during the playoffs?

We’re not talking about a team that has some scrub player needing to be cut. The most vulnerable defenseman in Carolina’s top 6 is Sean Walker, a 7-year veteran. Putting a guy like that in the press box has ripple effects with the team. Common sense says you wait till a spot is open, or the team has at least lost a game, before you introduce a rookie.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

It's truly hilarious that they think the 23-year old captain of the best KHL team would want to come to NA and play in the f***ing AHL playoffs. It's insulting.

Nikishin should be fed top-4 minutes from the get-go. This is like if Minnesota asked Kaprizov to play in the AHL first.

SKA barely made playoffs and got booted in the first round