The Kings have a clear need if they want to look like real postseason threats: a bona fide second-line center and a puck-moving defenseman on the left side. If general manager Ken Holland had his choice, that center would probably also shoot right. But the defense market is where one name keeps popping up, and Carolina has the kind of player that fits the bill.
Alexander Nikishin is the target.
He turns 25 tomorrow, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds, and just finished his first season in North America by helping the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup. In 81 regular-season games, he put up 33 points with 11 goals and 22 assists. He then played 17 postseason games and had one assist, while his ice time dipped from 18:11 in the regular season to 14:50 in the playoffs.
The numbers tell part of the story, but the bigger point is simpler: Nikishin is a defenseman teams want, and he would change the look of the Kings’ blue line right away.
The real challenge is getting him.
Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast, “I think that Carolina wants something akin to two first-rounders for Nikishin,” adding, “Whether it’s two first-round picks or comparable talent, I think that’s kind of in the area of what they’re looking for.”
That lines up with what was discussed between the Kings and Hurricanes around the NHL Draft in June. At that point, the apparent price was a 2026 first-round pick, a young NHL roster player, and one of LA’s top-10 prospects. The roster player was not believed to be Brandt Clarke or Quinton Byfield, which makes sense because those two, along with Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere, are probably the four names Holland is least likely to put on the table.
The talks went nowhere, and the Kings moved on.
If the current ask really is the equivalent of two first-rounders, then LA would likely be looking at giving up its 2027 first-round pick plus one of Henry Brzustewicz or Elton Hermansson. That’s the easy part of the exercise.
The hard part is the cap.
Nikishin is believed to be looking for a contract in the range of $7-9 million AAV, and Friedman said, “Elliotte Friedman: I mentioned on Monday’s pod that Alexander Nikishin is believed to be looking for a $9 million AAV over five years. I had a few sources reach out to say they think that could be lower in the right situation - Sportsnet (9/29)”
The Kings have only about $1.8 million in cap space right now, which means they would need to move money out, and not just a little. At least two contracts would have to go.
Some names are easy to rule out. Panarin, Byfield, Kempe, Zuccarello, Laferriere, Haula, Laughton, Clarke and Doughty are off the table for different reasons, with Doughty also having just been named captain a few weeks ago. Turcotte, Helenius, Lee, Perry and Gustafsson are also not the answer, simply because their deals are at $1 million or less and don’t create enough room to matter.
That leaves Moore, Armia, Edmundson, Dumoulin, Anderson, Ceci and two goaltenders. Darcy Kuemper would be tough to move, and among that group, Cody Ceci carries the biggest cap hit at $4.5 million, followed by Trevor Moore at $4.2 million. Even those contracts alone wouldn’t be enough to make Nikishin fit.
So Holland would have to clear at least two contracts, and possibly do it with the help of another team or even two more teams if Carolina doesn’t want any of the players coming back. That’s before you even get to the possibility of sweeteners or retention. Eating half of Ceci’s contract, for example, only makes the puzzle harder.
There’s another important wrinkle: Nikishin is a restricted free agent and does not have a deal in place. Trading for his rights would not be enough. The Kings would need to sign him to actually get him on the ice.
Put it all together, and the path is pretty clear. Holland would need to part with a first-round pick and one of Brzustewicz or Hermansson, then find a way to dump two contracts just to open the cap space for Nikishin’s next deal.
If he can pull that off, moving out a defenseman would make the most sense, since the Kings would be adding one to replace him. Moore would also be a logical cap casualty, purely because of the money.
It’s a complicated setup. Not impossible, but not likely either.
And if Holland wants to make a run at Nikishin, he can’t wait around. Other teams are already circling Carolina.
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There were still some encouraging signs for the Kings in the loss, including goals from Brian Dumoulin and Joel Armia, along with Trevor Moore joining the list of scorers as the game opened up. But after a wild opener that turned into a scoring race the Kings could not win, the bigger concern now is how they clean up the defensive end before this early gut check starts to feel like a trend. [Read more 🡒]