Report: Alexander Nikishin Turned Down Massive Contract Offer from Hurricanes

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 06: Pavel Dorofeyev #16 of the Vegas Golden Knights handles the puck against Alexander Nikishin #21 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period in Game Three of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The saga between Alexander Nikishin and the Carolina Hurricanes continues to take several turns.

The latest report by Elliotte Friedman indicates that the Hurricanes offered Nikishin a massive contract offer in the summer.

However, Nikishin is looking for a shorter deal with a higher AAV, which the Hurricanes don’t want to meet him on.

New reports indicate that a trade could be looming in the next week or so.

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Report: Alexander Nikishin Turned Down $5.5M-$6M AAV Deal

Alexander Nikishin is currently not with the Carolina Hurricanes as he seeks a trade.

Per @GinoHard on X.com, here was the report from Friedman about Nikishin turning down a massive contract offer:

“Alexander Nikishin has reportedly turned down an 8-year contract offer from the Hurricanes worth $5.5M-$6M AAV 👀 Nikishin is believed to be seeking around $9M AAV on a five-year deal and reportedly has interest in Los Angeles.”

Gino Hard

@GinoHard_ · Follow

Alexander Nikishin has reportedly turned down an 8-year contract offer from the Hurricanes worth $5.5M-$6M AAV 👀

Nikishin is believed to be seeking around $9M AAV on a five-year deal and reportedly has interest in Los Angeles.

(via @FriedgeHNIC)

2:15 pm · 30 Sep 2026

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There have been so many twists and turns with this Nikishin trade saga, but teams that remain interested are the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, and perhaps the Winnipeg Jets.

The biggest wrinkle in the whole ordeal is the fact that Nikishin is looking for a new contract, and although he carries a lot of promise as a young, potentially elite defenseman, he’s only played in one season and didn’t see much ice time in last year’s NHL playoffs.

NHLMuse

@NHL_Muse · Follow

Alexander Nikishin is reportedly interested in being traded to Los Angeles, per @FriedgeHNIC

The Kings are interested, but fitting his salary into their cap situation could be difficult. 👀

Getting Nikishin to LA sounds great… actually making the money work is the real

2:44 am · 30 Sep 2026

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In 2025-26, Nikishin played in 81 games and logged 33 points (22 assists, 11 goals) in his rookie campaign.

The Hurricanes had a wildly successful 2025-26 season, so most of their players had a positive +/- on their Hockey-Reference page, but Nikishin held his own in that category as well, with a +18 in that stat.