A potential blockbuster swap with Carolina could send Detroit’s captain to the defending champions, landing the Red Wings a blue-chip defenseman and a haul of premium draft picks.
As mock trades continue to swirl around the internet involving the Detroit Red Wings and former captain Dylan Larkin, one has struck a particular chord with fans and looks like a legitimate possibility.
While Larkin is looking to make his way to a contender, there is a player on a current contender right now looking for a change of scenery, one who just won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes.
After seeing his role shrink over the course of the postseason, Alexander Nikishin is looking to move on from the Hurricanes and land a bigger role elsewhere. That could open the door to a trade between conference rivals. The Russian import reportedly requested a trade at the end of last season, and that request remains in place according to reports from TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
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The Red Wings would get a 24-year-old left shot defenseman who would slot in and round out the top four, giving Detroit a solid group alongside Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson and Justin Faulk, who will eventually be replaced by Axel Sandin Pellikka. Larkin, meanwhile, would join a Carolina team looking to repeat as champions, and the Hurricanes wouldn't be giving up much in Nikishin.
He averaged around 18 minutes a night during the regular season before that number dipped closer to 14 or 15 minutes by the later rounds of the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Final. It would be a minimal cost for Carolina to add another marquee name to their group, along with even more strength up the middle of the ice.
Carolina would likely have to give up more in a deal like this, but the draft capital is there to make it happen. The Hurricanes hold their own first, second and third round picks in each of the next four years, along with an extra third round pick in 2027 and an extra first round pick in 2028 coming from the Dallas Stars.
Carolina could reasonably offload Nikishin along with two of their three first round picks over the next two seasons and have a deal that makes sense for both sides.
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