Jan 10, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson (77) looks on against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin finally ended his holdout with the team, agreeing to terms on a one year, three million dollar contract after holding out over the summer while reportedly asking for upwards of eight or nine million dollars a year.
Nikishin was one of the more surprising storylines of the offseason after winning a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes, deciding to hold out on contract negotiations well into the season. There were talks of moving the Russian blue liner earlier in the year, however it seems that Nikishin finally got tired of skating at home and has decided to lace them up in Carolina for the foreseeable future.
The one year pact does not include trade protection, so it could very well be that the contract is to help facilitate a trade after Nikishin has proven his value with his play before this year’s trade deadline. The move, combined with the recent Connor Helleybuck trade, leaves Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson the last of the NHL’s top offseason headlines to have their situations still unresolved.
Larkin’s trade request has been hanging over the team since mid-May, with the most recent update being that the center has expanded his list of acceptable destinations to ten teams. Edvinsson, meanwhile, came to Red Wings preseason camp as an unsigned restricted free agent and has remained that way despite the show of good faith on his end.
Latest reporting is that the big blueliner has grown frustrated with Detroit and now prefers a trade out of Hockeytown. With the NHL approaching the end of the first month of the season, time is slipping by for the Red Wings to get him signed before Dec.
1 and his entire year is lost.
