The Hurricanes and Rangers had an Alexander Nikishin trade in place, according to Elliotte Friedman, but it fell apart when nobody could land a contract agreement.
"They had a deal between the Hurricanes and the Rangers and they couldn't come to a contract agreement," Friedman said on 32 Thoughts.
"The rumor was that Nikishin was asking around 5x9M," he added, meaning five years at $9 million a season.
Friedman also believes the Blues were "legitimately interested" for a while.
The defenseman asked Carolina for a trade and has permission to talk to some teams.
His last cap hit was $925,000, so that ask would mean a raise of $8,075,000 per season.
So is that ask crazy, or just early?
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Alexander Nikishin's $9 million asking price killed Rangers trade
Nikishin is coming off 33 points and a plus-18 in his first full NHL season.
He then played 17 games during Carolina's Stanley Cup run, though he managed just one assist.
Before that, he put up 56 points for SKA St. Petersburg in 2023-24.
Nine million would tie Jakob Chychrun, Dougie Hamilton and Jackson Lacombe for the 13th-biggest cap hit among NHL defensemen.
The Rangers already pay Adam Fox $9,500,000, so a second blue liner at nearly that number was always going to be a tough sell.
That ask is too rich for a player with one full NHL season. Five years at that price is a bet on potential, and walking away was the right call if that's where talks landed.
It's like a first-year realtor asking for a senior partner's commission after one big year. The sales were real, but the track record is short.
The Hurricanes open Tuesday at home against Florida with his situation still unresolved, and Friedman has floated him as a possible piece in a Connor Hellebuyck three-way.
Mike Sullivan's Rangers also open Tuesday in Boston, while Jim Montgomery's Blues start October 2 in Dallas.
The deal was there once. The next team that tries will have to solve the contract first, or it's going to fall apart the same way.
Is Alexander Nikishin worth five years at $9 million per season?
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