A new trade pitch aimed at the Boston Bruins and the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes would swap Boston center Pavel Zacha for Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin, though the deal would be contingent on contract extensions that remain unsigned.
Nikishin skipped training camp, hired a new agent and remains without a contract into Carolina’s season opener tonight.
The proposal, created by a user of the tools provided by roster-construction site PuckGM, proposes sending Nikishin, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Taylor Hall and a 2027 third-round pick to Boston. Carolina gets Zacha, Mason Lohrei and Casey Mittelstadt back. The cap numbers look feasible. Boston’s hit falls $5.713 million, and Carolina’s climbs by the same amount. None of it happens, though, unless Nikishin and Zacha both sign extensions, and Carolina finds a taker willing to absorb four more years of Kotkaniemi’s deal.
Bruins Face Steep Nikishin Price Tag
Nikishin, 24, signed his two-year entry-level contract in April 2025 and delivered a rookie season nobody in Raleigh expected with 33 points, averaging 18:11 of ice time, an All-Rookie nod and a Stanley Cup championship ring. He’s been a restricted free agent since July 1 and has requested a trade and changed agents, hiring Paul Theofanous.
The Orel, Russia, native also remains unsigned into the season opener against Florida. “We’re trying to find a resolution,” Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky said Monday, according to NHL.com.
“I think that Carolina wants something akin to two first-rounders for Nikishin,” insider Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast this month. Friedman added that a deal with the New York Rangers already collapsed over Nikishin’s next contract, which he reportedly wants at close to $9 million a year over five seasons. The St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators have also registered interest, though Carolina’s preferred trading partner is reportedly Winnipeg, in a package built around goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
Hurricanes Would Get Win-Now Boost With Zacha
Zacha, 29, could command $9 million annually on his next deal, but he’s finishing a four-year, $19 million contract worth $4.75 million a year through 2026-27. He set career highs with 30 goals and 65 points last season centering Boston’s second line.
Bruins GM Don Sweeney wants to keep him. “He’s an important player for us, a big part of our team,” Sweeney said, according to The Boston Globe‘s Kevin Paul Dupont.
Mittelstadt, acquired in a March 2025 trade for Charlie Coyle, found a groove on Zacha’s wing and posted 42 points.
Lohrei, a 25-year-old left-shot defenseman who signed a two-year contract extension in June, jumped from minus-43 to plus-17. Both would head south on expiring or near-expiring money. Kotkaniemi, meanwhile, is the player Carolina wants gone. Montreal made him the third overall pick in 2018, and Carolina later signed him to an offer sheet before locking him up for eight years at $4.82 million annually. He managed just nine points in 42 games last season and did not play in the playoffs despite riding the Cup-winning roster, with four more years left on the deal.
Boston wins the talent swap only if Nikishin actually signs at a feasible number. A 24-year-old, Cup-winning defenseman with All-Rookie hardware is the best asset in the deal. Otherwise the framework is nothing but Boston absorbing four years of Kotkaniemi’s contract and an aging winger for two centers on expiring paper. Carolina’s side is the safer bet regardless of what Nikishin decides — a 30-goal center instead of a holdout defenseman it may lose for nothing.
Bruins Trade Pitch Lands Alexander Nikishin For 30-Goal Center Pavel Zacha