The Hurricanes simply ran out of time at the NHL trade deadline. The organization was too preoccupied with shipping off Mikko Rantanen that it left little room for the Canes to add talent for a playoff push. As it stood Carolina was a very good team entering the playoffs, but lacked the spark needed to get past some of the best teams in the East.
Now their spark has arrived in the most stunning way imaginable.
In an almost unprecedented move, SKA St. Peterburg in the KHL agreed to release star defenseman Alexander Nikishin from his contract in order to allow him to head to the NHL in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nikishin arriving in Carolina was a foregone conclusion in the offseason, but to see him make the jump this early is what’s so shocking.
Nikishin isn’t just a promising rookie, he’s one of the top prospects in all of hockey and exactly what the Hurricanes need for the playoffs. A 6-4 physical monster with Cale Makar-esque offensive abilities which could be the piece of the puzzle that allows Carolina to make a very real cup push in 2025.
Yes, Nikishin is that good.
The Russian phenom
When the Hurricanes selected Nikishin in the 2020 NHL Draft he was a big, bruising, stay-at-home defender who projected to be a 2nd line defenseman. Exactly the kind of player you’d expect to be a mid-round pick — however, something miraculous happened when he arrived in St. Petersburg. With higher level coaching and natural development, Nikishin quickly became the best point-scoring defenseman in all of Russia.
In 2022-23 he exploded with 44 assists in 67 games. The next year he became set a record for most points scored by a Russian-born defenseman, finishing the season with 17 goals and 39 assists. Suddenly older teammates were looking to Nikishin for guidance, with the 22-year-old being named SKA’s captain and rallying the organization to a surprising playoff berth.
We’ve seen players excel at the KHL level then struggle to adjust to the NHL, but Nikishin’s size, hockey IQ, and athleticism already projects perfectly to make the jump — and coming fresh out of the KHL playoffs means he’s in game shape right now to step on the ice.
What Nikishin does for the Canes
The biggest area Carolina has struggled this season is its powerplay, lacking both a signature goal scorer and a quarterback for the unit. The Hurricanes rank 24th in the NHL on power play goal percentage, with a paltry 18.57% — well below any other team in the playoffs.
While Carolina still lacks that elite sniper to convert those PP opportunities, Nikishin is an elite passer and shooter, who can immediately step in and take Brent Burns’ place on the powerplay, taking ice time off the aging veteran while also adding a much-needed pop of offense.
In addition, Nikishin has someone in countryman Andrei Svechnikov who can ease his transition both into the NHL, and life in North Carolina — which is a boon for a young player making the jump.
Is this really enough to alter the playoffs?
Is Nikishin is able to perform close to the level he did in the KHL then this is legitimately a game changer in the Eastern conference. The Hurricanes had a very close ratio of goals for/against the season, and if Nikishin can only boost the powerplay by, say 5%, then in 2024-25 he would have potentially contributed six more wins on the schedule.
Even away from the powerplay he’s a big, physical checker who loves contact and grinding out opportunities on the boards. Nikishin is the picture of a Rod Brind’Amour player — and it’s going to be absolutely fascinating to see what he can do in the NHL.