Report: Nikishin turned down this 8-year lowball offer from Hurricanes

Alexander Nikishin remains on the sidelines. A restricted free agent without a contract. He wants a massive new deal after a strong rookie season.

Reports over the course of the offseason initially had the Russian blueliner looking for a new contract with an AAV of at least $8 million. But after the Zeev Buium signing in Vancouver at a $9.38 million AAV, it's thought that Nikishin's price went up. 

The Carolina Hurricanes, however, are not on the same page with regard to the value of their young D-man. That's certainly been revealed by the report from Elliotte Friedman on Wednesday that the Canes' long-term offer to Nikishin was far below his asking price. 

Alexander Nikishin has reportedly turned down an 8-year contract offer from the Hurricanes worth $5.5M-$6M AAV 👀

Nikishin is believed to be seeking around $9M AAV on a five-year deal and reportedly has interest in Los Angeles.

(via @FriedgeHNIC) pic.twitter.com/PE9wwzMv7f

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) September 30, 2026

Nikishin reportedly turned down Carolina's offer of an eight-year extension with an AAV in the range of $5.5M-$6M.

Friedman has also noted that the 24-year-old and the LA Kings have mutual interest in a sign-and-trade.

Alexander Nikishin is reportedly interested in being traded to Los Angeles, per @FriedgeHNIC

The Kings are interested, but fitting his salary into their cap situation could be difficult. 👀

Getting Nikishin to LA sounds great… actually making the money work is the real… pic.twitter.com/G5uK6qb0wA

— NHLMuse (@NHL_Muse) September 30, 2026

The Kings, however, have just $1.8 million in cap space available as they kick off their 2026-27 season Wednesday night. The math just doesn't work at this point unless LA does some major surgery to its roster.