The Carolina Hurricanes have signed the second-year defenceman to a one-year, $3-million deal, ending his absence after he missed the first 12 games of the season, the team announced Sunday.
“We’re glad that Alexander is returning to our group,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement put out by the team. “This has been a long process, but we look forward to him re-entering our locker room ready to contribute with the Hurricanes, as he did during a Stanley Cup championship season last year.”
Nikishin, 25, became a restricted free agent this past summer after completing a two-year, entry-level contract.
After contract talks with the reigning Stanley Cup champs stalled in the off-season, the defenceman requested a trade and did not report to the team’s training camp in September.
The defenceman scored 11 goals and totalled 33 points in 81 regular-season games in 2025-26. During Carolina’s run to the Cup, Nikishin had one assist in 17 games. He led rookie defencemen in plus-minus (plus-18) last year.
Selected by the Hurricanes in the third round of the 2020 Draft, Nikishin officially joined Carolina in the 2024-25 season after signing his entry-level deal.
He first appeared in the 2024-25 post-season, skating in four games while recording one assist. Last year was his first regular season with the club after spending the prior three years in Russia’s KHL with St. Petersburg SKA.
Despite being without the young blueliner, the Hurricanes have coasted to an 8-2-2 record in the early going and sit atop the Metropolitan Division heading into Sunday’s action.