Nikishin Is Out, and Carolina's Blue Line Gets Thinner

Alexander Nikishin will not attend training camp. The Hurricanes confirmed Tuesday that the defenseman is not under contract and won't be in the fold going forward — a quiet transaction that lands louder than it looks given where this roster currently stands.

Nikishin played 49 games during the championship run, posting 21 points and a plus-12 rating. That plus-12 was the best mark among Carolina's defensemen last season. He wasn't a top-pairing piece, but he was a reliable presence at nearly 19 minutes a night, and that kind of dependable depth is exactly what gets tested when a title defense begins with injuries already stacking up.

The blue line context matters here. The Hurricanes have spent September adding Pierre-Olivier Joseph and re-signing Mike Reilly, both on one-year deals, specifically to shore up the backend. Those moves look more urgent now. Nikishin's departure is one more subtraction on a defense that was already being patched together heading into camp.

The Staal extension earlier today was the good news. This is the other side of the ledger.