Nikishin Is In. The Blue Line Problem Isn't Going Away.

Carolina finally closed the Nikishin file Monday, signing the defenseman to a one-year, $3 million deal that ended a months-long standoff with the restricted free agent. He's in the building. That part is done.

What isn't done is the broader situation on the back end. K'Andre Miller is the top name on Carolina's defensive depth chart right now, and he hasn't been producing at anything close to what you'd expect from a number-one defenseman. Jaccob Slavin and Sean Walker round out the top three, and none of the three have been carrying the load a contending team needs from that group. Nikishin adds a body, but adding a body and solving a problem aren't the same thing.

My read: Nikishin's arrival matters more as a depth move than a fix. The Hurricanes are already navigating Staal's absence — the captain is out one to two months with a torn calf — and Taylor Hall's upper-body injury hasn't resolved either. The forward situation has been the louder story, but the blue line quietly needs attention too. Carolina has been winning, and the seven-game streak earlier this month bought some goodwill. But the roster has real gaps, and Nikishin signing a one-year deal doesn't paper over them.

He suits up, he helps. Whether he helps enough is a different question.