The Carolina Hurricanes will open training camp on Thursday without unsigned RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin, according to a statement by general manager Eric Tulsky posted on the team’s social media accounts.
“Alexander Nikishin is not under contract currently, so he will not be at camp when we hit the ice on Thursday,” Tulsky wrote in the statement. “We won’t be commenting further at this time.”
Nikishin, 24, requested a trade over the summer, and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Monday that the request remains in place.
A former top prospect, Nikishin played third-pair minutes alongside Shayne Gostisbehere during Carolina’s Stanley Cup run last spring. He also saw time on the Hurricanes’ second power play; Gostisbehere runs the first unit.
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As a rookie in 2025-26, Nikishin totaled 11 points and 22 assists, and the Hurricanes won his five-on-five minutes 57-43 with customary solid underlying numbers.
Over the summer, a few players with profiles similar to Nikishin’s — well-regarded, relatively inexperienced RFA defensemen — signed long-term, big-money extensions. Among them: Vancouver’s Zeev Buium (eight years, $9.38 million AAV), Calgary’s Simon Nemec (five years, $7.25 million AAV) and Anaheim’s Pavel Mintyukov (five years, $7.2 million AAV).
“He’s a young kid (with) a lot of promise; we’d want to have him back for sure, but we also know it’s a business and they get agents involved,” coach Rod Brind’Amour told Spectrum News 1 on Wednesday. “We don’t waste time worrying about it. If he comes in the door, we’ll obviously welcome him with open arms, but until that happens, we’ve got to move in.”
Brind’Amour also alluded to players who are in camp and presumably aiming to replace Nikishin in the lineup. Joel Nystrom gave the Hurricanes solid minutes during the 2025-26 regular season, Mike Reilly stepped in at times during the playoffs and Pierre-Olivier Joseph signed a one-year deal with Carolina on Sept. 8.
“We’ve got a lot of other guys that are wanting that spot, and we’ll get a little competition,” Brind’Amour said. “We haven’t really had a lot of that in years past, because the seats on the bus are always full and now maybe there’s a spot open.”
