Nikishin's NHL Stalemate With Hurricanes Finally Ends With One-Year Contract

Defenseman Alexander Nikishin has finally been inked to a contract by the Carolina Hurricanes. GM Eric Tulsky signed the 25-year-old to a one-year contract worth $3 million against the salary cap, the team announced on Sunday.

Nikishin was sitting on the sidelines all season long with this contract dispute. As an unsigned RFA, he did not attend the Hurricanes' training camp or pre-season, missed the first 13 games of Carolina's campaign, and who knows when he'll return to the lineup.

Nikishin required a new deal after his two-year entry-level contract expired at the end of last season, which paid him $925,000 against the cap.

"We’re glad that Alexander is returning to our group,” Tulsky said in a statement. “This has been a long process, but we look forward to him re-entering our locker room ready to contribute with the Hurricanes, as he did during a Stanley Cup championship season last year.”

Following this one-year deal, expiring at the end of this campaign, Nikishin will still be an RFA, but with arbitration rights, if his team wants to go down that route.

His cap hit ranks sixth among Carolina's defense and 15th on the entire payroll.

Last season, which was Nikishin's rookie campaign, the Russian blueliner played 81 games. In that span for the Hurricanes, he scored 11 goals and 33 points, while registering a plus-18 rating and averaging 18:11 of ice time per game.

In the post-season, his second of his young NHL career, Nikishin wasn't as big a factor. He averaged 14:50 of ice time per game in his 17 playoff outings for the club, providing just one assist.

Nonetheless, he was a piece of the team's championship run, and his representation and the organization were able to come to terms with bringing the promising blueliner back.

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