Hurricanes Reveal Condition to Acquire Nikishin

[TheJackBurton]

The Blues have 10.2MM in cap space.

McMichael is going to get 6-7MM based on the deal Bourque just signed.

That will only leave 3-4MM in space. Certainly not enough to trade for both Nikishin and Kotkaniemi. Even moving Krug to LTIR won't open enough space.

Something like Pius Suter would have to go back to Carolina.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting on all this.

A roster forward AND a roster dman would be included in deal. It’s not that friggin hard people.

There's an entire other thread about this where I went through the financials in detail and several of us looked at it and discussed it.

Far as your comment here. Blues don't have a roster dman to trade

Parayko and Fowler would both be available for Nikishin. You are wrong if you don’t believe so. Both would also probably waive for the Canes

6/25/26 Report: Blues tell teams Parayko off the market for trades

Again, I don’t know why the Blues would move their Top RHD for another LHD where there is a HUGE surplus in the organization. I also don’t know why they’d take on another LH Forward with a contract no one wants.

Sure, upgrade the Roster with premium players that align with the ages. A future of Broberg & Nikishin manning the left-side for the next 8 years and Mailloux & Jiricek on the right-side sounds tantalizing. Whoever is left after the acquisition… Fowler, Lindstein, Ralph, Fischer, & Koromyslov… battling for that 3rd & 7th slot would be very nice. However, you’re still left short on the RH front… across the whole organization.

While a 3 RHD isn’t a necessity, because many LHD like a Theo Lindstein could play opposite, the Blues simply don’t have those players ready today to fill in once that void is created. Colton is probably going to need some maintenance. Injuries can happen to anyone anywhere.

Currently, the backups on RHD are Skinner, who is basically riding the red eye as AHL depth, and Jiricek, who is a mid-late season callup. In the hypothetical where they move Parayko, I doubt we want Tucker opposite Jiricek when he’s got his spot in 2027/28. As for Schairer, he is years away.

Hopefully, they’ll assess the future 2nd & 3rd Line LHD from the current crop and get a RHD or RHF in return from the guy who just misses the cut. Lindstein is here today, possibly gone tomorrow if the Blues deal for Nikishin. It’s possible Theo’s need is made less with Koromyslov coming over and being immediate depth in the AHL w/Tucker as their #7?

I just don’t know much about Arseni other than he’s big, Russian, and was drafted in the 4th Round a year before taking Lindstein w/pick #29. For all I know, he is apart of the depth redundancy at AHL w/Ralph, & Fischer…

Because Armstrong has said repeatedly they are trying to get as many talented guys for 22-26 as they can so they can grow together.

I get that. Again, how many of those need to be LHF, or LHD? They will all be looking for substantial raises all around the same time.

Not everyone on the roster can be paid $8M for 8 years. You will still need young, cheap players filling out the roster. We have an abundance of young, cheap LHD. They’ll need to spread that wealth around to other positions like RHD, RW.

Acquiring another LHD and making them your top paid player, then having your LHD represent the #1, #2, & #4 pay-slots allocated for defense long term is not a great idea.

Trading Parayko is a non-starter. It’s been shared & confirmed several times. I doubt they move Fowler in this type of deal, since they’ve started acquiring Ducks and have a hefty upfront and longterm commitment with McTavish. Chemistry is very much a thing in this sport and they’ll rely on Fowler’s veteran presence and prior relationship with these Ducks to help Mason adjust, quickly.

While I do think Nikishin makes the team better, they’ll be paying him or Broberg top dollar to be 2nd on the Depth chart. The young LHD would be better spent on positions of need, not reinforcing somewhere that already has a logjam.

The Carolina Hurricanes just won the Stanley Cup with Nikishin playing the right side. Left handed dmen can plan on the right side.

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/caro ... mbinations

We simply aren't going to trade a RHD to acquire a LHD to then move him to his off side. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

[blues2112]

Yes, not saying he can’t. Did you see his ATOI for the playoffs?

14:50, good for 4th lowest on the team w/more than 2 Games played. For total time on ice, he was again 4th lowest among Hurricane’s players playing more than 2 Games. He barely beat Goaltender Bussi for total minutes, and he appeared in 4 Games.

Let’s not act like he was Top 4 Dman in the playoffs playing on his opposite side for the Cup Winner…

In fairness, there's context to that number: he was a rookie, played close to 100 games (previous highs in 60-70 range) and suffered a concussion in game four versus Sens*. By comparison, The Thomas averaged 13:07 his first playoff

* https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/hu ... oncussion/

[zamadoo]

Yes, not saying he can’t. Did you see his ATOI for the playoffs?

14:50, good for 4th lowest on the team w/more than 2 Games played. For total time on ice, he was again 4th lowest among Hurricane’s players playing more than 2 Games. He barely beat Goaltender Bussi for total minutes, and he appeared in 4 Games.

Let’s not act like he was Top 4 Dman in the playoffs playing on his opposite side for the Cup Winner…

In fairness, there's context to that number: he was a rookie, played close to 100 games (previous highs in 60-70 range) and suffered a concussion in game four versus Sens*. By comparison, The Thomas averaged 13:07 his first playoff

* https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/hu ... oncussion/

Well let's not compare apples to oranges, in fairness.

Nikishin is 24 and played with men for years before this 'rookie' appearance.

6'3 220lb defender vs 19 y/o smaller sized center playing RW (who was destroyed by another smaller sized player in the SCF)

That said, I'm somewhere in the middle on this one, where I look more to his total of 1 point in 17 playoff games.

[blues2112]

Yes, not saying he can’t. Did you see his ATOI for the playoffs?

14:50, good for 4th lowest on the team w/more than 2 Games played. For total time on ice, he was again 4th lowest among Hurricane’s players playing more than 2 Games. He barely beat Goaltender Bussi for total minutes, and he appeared in 4 Games.

Let’s not act like he was Top 4 Dman in the playoffs playing on his opposite side for the Cup Winner…

In fairness, there's context to that number: he was a rookie, played close to 100 games (previous highs in 60-70 range) and suffered a concussion in game four versus Sens*. By comparison, The Thomas averaged 13:07 his first playoff

* https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/hu ... oncussion/

Well let's not compare apples to oranges, in fairness.

Nikishin is 24 and played with men for years before this 'rookie' appearance.

6'3 220lb defender vs 19 y/o smaller sized center playing RW (who was destroyed by another smaller sized player in the SCF)

That said, I'm somewhere in the middle on this one, where I look more to his total of 1 point in 17 playoff games.

Zamado, truly, you are one of my favorite posters. Love your consistent optimism. And tip of the cap for being a veteran.

Totally fine to disagree. I don't know Nikishin from Bomac. Numbers are one thing, but eye test is something else, especially player dealing with concussion (I've had three, which explains a lot!).

[noted]

The Blues have 10.2MM in cap space.

McMichael is going to get 6-7MM based on the deal Bourque just signed.

That will only leave 3-4MM in space. Certainly not enough to trade for both Nikishin and Kotkaniemi. Even moving Krug to LTIR won't open enough space.

Something like Pius Suter would have to go back to Carolina.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting on all this.

A roster forward AND a roster dman would be included in deal. It’s not that friggin hard people.

There's an entire other thread about this where I went through the financials in detail and several of us looked at it and discussed it.

Far as your comment here. Blues don't have a roster dman to trade

Parayko and Fowler would both be available for Nikishin. You are wrong if you don’t believe so. Both would also probably waive for the Canes

6/25/26 Report: Blues tell teams Parayko off the market for trades

Again, I don’t know why the Blues would move their Top RHD for another LHD where there is a HUGE surplus in the organization. I also don’t know why they’d take on another LH Forward with a contract no one wants.

Sure, upgrade the Roster with premium players that align with the ages. A future of Broberg & Nikishin manning the left-side for the next 8 years and Mailloux & Jiricek on the right-side sounds tantalizing. Whoever is left after the acquisition… Fowler, Lindstein, Ralph, Fischer, & Koromyslov… battling for that 3rd & 7th slot would be very nice. However, you’re still left short on the RH front… across the whole organization.

While a 3 RHD isn’t a necessity, because many LHD like a Theo Lindstein could play opposite, the Blues simply don’t have those players ready today to fill in once that void is created. Colton is probably going to need some maintenance. Injuries can happen to anyone anywhere.

Currently, the backups on RHD are Skinner, who is basically riding the red eye as AHL depth, and Jiricek, who is a mid-late season callup. In the hypothetical where they move Parayko, I doubt we want Tucker opposite Jiricek when he’s got his spot in 2027/28. As for Schairer, he is years away.

Hopefully, they’ll assess the future 2nd & 3rd Line LHD from the current crop and get a RHD or RHF in return from the guy who just misses the cut. Lindstein is here today, possibly gone tomorrow if the Blues deal for Nikishin. It’s possible Theo’s need is made less with Koromyslov coming over and being immediate depth in the AHL w/Tucker as their #7?

I just don’t know much about Arseni other than he’s big, Russian, and was drafted in the 4th Round a year before taking Lindstein w/pick #29. For all I know, he is apart of the depth redundancy at AHL w/Ralph, & Fischer…

Because Armstrong has said repeatedly they are trying to get as many talented guys for 22-26 as they can so they can grow together.

I get that. Again, how many of those need to be LHF, or LHD? They will all be looking for substantial raises all around the same time.

Not everyone on the roster can be paid $8M for 8 years. You will still need young, cheap players filling out the roster. We have an abundance of young, cheap LHD. They’ll need to spread that wealth around to other positions like RHD, RW.

Acquiring another LHD and making them your top paid player, then having your LHD represent the #1, #2, & #4 pay-slots allocated for defense long term is not a great idea.

Trading Parayko is a non-starter. It’s been shared & confirmed several times. I doubt they move Fowler in this type of deal, since they’ve started acquiring Ducks and have a hefty upfront and longterm commitment with McTavish. Chemistry is very much a thing in this sport and they’ll rely on Fowler’s veteran presence and prior relationship with these Ducks to help Mason adjust, quickly.

While I do think Nikishin makes the team better, they’ll be paying him or Broberg top dollar to be 2nd on the Depth chart. The young LHD would be better spent on positions of need, not reinforcing somewhere that already has a logjam.

The Carolina Hurricanes just won the Stanley Cup with Nikishin playing the right side. Left handed dmen can plan on the right side.

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/caro ... mbinations

We simply aren't going to trade a RHD to acquire a LHD to then move him to his off side. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Well thankfully there isn’t a “we” when the Blues manage their team

[zamadoo]

Yes, not saying he can’t. Did you see his ATOI for the playoffs?

14:50, good for 4th lowest on the team w/more than 2 Games played. For total time on ice, he was again 4th lowest among Hurricane’s players playing more than 2 Games. He barely beat Goaltender Bussi for total minutes, and he appeared in 4 Games.

Let’s not act like he was Top 4 Dman in the playoffs playing on his opposite side for the Cup Winner…

In fairness, there's context to that number: he was a rookie, played close to 100 games (previous highs in 60-70 range) and suffered a concussion in game four versus Sens*. By comparison, The Thomas averaged 13:07 his first playoff

* https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/hu ... oncussion/

Well let's not compare apples to oranges, in fairness.

Nikishin is 24 and played with men for years before this 'rookie' appearance.

6'3 220lb defender vs 19 y/o smaller sized center playing RW (who was destroyed by another smaller sized player in the SCF)

That said, I'm somewhere in the middle on this one, where I look more to his total of 1 point in 17 playoff games.

Zamado, truly, you are one of my favorite posters. Love your consistent optimism. And tip of the cap for being a veteran.

Totally fine to disagree. I don't know Nikishin from Bomac. Numbers are one thing, but eye test is something else, especially player dealing with concussion (I've had three, which explains a lot!).

Thanks, and I return the sentiment.

I feel the same way, just haven't seen enough of Nikishin to make a valid assessment. When people talk on here about players on other teams, I often wonder how much they watch the rest of the league. And yeah, I didn't know about the concussion. Plenty of experience here in that department as well. Nikishin could be a beast, and if the Blues have shown interest, then I trust their opinion.

Checking his stats again though, Nikishin played 18min a night the whole season and then 14:50 in the playoffs, after coming over and being directly inserted into the lineup last playoffs for 15:59 a night. Not bad for a 23 y/o defenseman out of the KHL.

So if we want to say "he's not top 4" then let us compare him to "not top 4" - with our very own Robert Bortuzzo. When I look and see he only played 12min a night in the 19 playoffs, I almost don't believe it. He did play 15min a night in the reg season. Close, but Nikishin is not a #6D.

Edmundson is a closer comp.
Gunnarsson has very similar playoff numbers (but no doubt better story)
Dunn might be the best comp. (Whoa Dunn had the exact same pts stats as Nikishin this season, and very similar stats when comparing Cup seasons).

If the Blues have interest, maybe they see a combo of Ed and Dunn, who they moved out and probably regret.

If this player is a combo of those guys, with the size, scoring, and some salt sprinkled in... Well maybe he's worth adding to the core. I guess my last question would be whether he prefers left or right side.