Carolina has become a familiar stop for phone calls about Alexander Nikishin, and that doesn’t sound like it’s changing anytime soon. Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that the team keeps hearing from clubs about the defenseman, even if a deal isn’t the first outcome on the table.
“We certainly get a lot of calls on him. We always have. We are, as always, looking to find ways to make the team better and if there are trades that will help move us forward, then, of course, we will do it.”
Nikishin, 24, delivered a strong rookie year for Carolina, finishing with 11 goals and 22 assists in 81 games. He also appeared in 17 of the club’s 19 playoff games during its run to the Stanley Cup title.
Reports have indicated he is aiming for about $8MM per season on his next contract, a number the Hurricanes can handle financially. Tulsky also pointed out that restricted free agents without arbitration rights often wind up among the last players to get signed, and that appears to be the path here.
If a contract doesn’t come together, the trade market already seems ready to step in.
In Columbus, Rick Bowness is still pushing the message he delivered when the Blue Jackets’ season wrapped up in the spring. He told team reporter Jeff Svoboda earlier this week that he wants the group to get comfortable being uncomfortable, and he said his end-of-season rant was meant to help establish that tone.
The next step, he said, is carrying that mentality into training camp in hopes of taking another step forward. Columbus made a run after Bowness took over in an interim role midseason, but the club faded late and ended up with a sixth straight year without a playoff berth.
Brantford also made a move with one of its recent draft picks. After acquiring his rights earlier in the week, the OHL team announced on Twitter that it has signed defenseman Cullen McCrate for the upcoming season.
The Bruins took the 19-year-old in the seventh round in June after he put together a strong year with USHL Fargo, where he posted 10 goals and 21 assists in 61 games. McCrate is expected to play with the Bulldogs in 2026-27 before moving on to Michigan State for the 2027-28 season.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Still Can't Escape This Brutal 2005 Draft Miss
The Blue Jackets are still living with one of the franchises most painful draft decisions, a choice from 2005 that looked risky then and has only aged worse over time. With the sixth pick, Columbus took Gilbert Brule while Anze Kopitar, a highly regarded prospect from a non-traditional hockey country, was still on the board, and the decision came down to general manager Doug MacLean despite the scouting staff reportedly leaning the other way.
Brule never came close to matching the impact Kopitar would go on to have over a long and successful NHL career, which is why the debate keeps resurfacing whenever the draft comes up around Columbus. For a team that has spent years trying to build a deeper hockey identity, this is one of those what-if moments that still hangs around the organization and refuses to fade. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Fans May Barely Remember The Teams Only No. 54s
The No. 54 sweater has been a rare sight in Columbus, worn only by Scott Harrington and Adam McQuaid. For a franchise that has cycled through plenty of defensemen over the years, that number has barely had a history at all, which makes it one of the more obscure entries in Blue Jackets jersey lore.
Harrington spent 185 games in Columbus before his career took him through several teams and leagues, and he is currently signed with the Belleville Senators. McQuaid, meanwhile, was drafted by Columbus but did not actually skate for the club until a brief 2019 stint before an injury brought his career to an end, leaving him with 73 points and a Stanley Cup ring. [Read more 🡒]