After a third season of missing the playoffs in the last five years, the St. Louis Blues will be looking to bounce back heading into the 2026-27 season. All signs don't necessarily point to that being in the cards for the Blues. Earlier this week, The Athletic predicted that the Blues would return to the mushy middle, narrowly avoiding the bottom-feeder division.
When it comes to the pros and cons of the season, a lot of the positives for the Blues come from the pairing of Parayko and Broberg. The Athletic describes them as "two behemoths who can be monstrous without the puck." Beyond that, though, there isn't much to speak of on the Blues' blueline.
That's where the addition of a young defender like Alexander Nikishin could come in. Nikishin, a restricted free agent defender who is under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, has not been at Hurricanes camp and is said to have been given permission to speak with other teams. As a restricted free agent, the defender will be at the whim of the Hurricanes to trade him somewhere.
For the Blues, that somewhere should be in St. Louis.
What the St. Louis Blues need
As The Athletic preview identified, the Blues do have some good defensive defender options in Broberg and Parayko. Both earned positive defensive rankings, with Carlo being the only other Blues defender to be in the positives. In the past two seasons, Broberg has taken a step forward offensively, which makes him a great two-way defender.
Parayko's offensive ability dropped off a bit last season where he produced half as many points last season than the previous one. However, he's a strong defender and can balance out Broberg's offensive abilities.
The St. Louis Blues have been running with Mailloux on the top line this postseason, partnered with Broberg, while Parayko has been on the second line with Theo Lindstein. The preseason hasn't been great for the rest of the Blues' defenders, and questions remain about Carlo, Jirichek, and Tucker for their spots in the lineup.
All of this leaves the perfect gap for a player like Nikishin to fit in.
Nikishin's strong 2025-26 season
Alexander Nikishin was a pleasant surprise for the Carolina Hurricanes last year. The 24-year-old defender was named to the All-Rookie All-Star team last season and ranked seventh in Calder Trophy voting. He broke the records for most goals scored and most points earned by a rookie defender in Hurricanes history. Only Shane Gostisbehere had more goals for the Hurricanes as a defender last season. Nikishin finished the season with 11 goals, 22 assists, and 33 points.
Nikishin was instrumental in helping the Hurricanes get into the postseason, even if he wasn't super productive during the Stanley Cup run. As a rookie in his first season, you can't ask much more from a defender. In return, Nikishin is asking for a long-term deal with a solid price tag. It looks like the Hurricanes don't want to pay it.
The St. Louis Blues, however, might find that worthwhile. If they are only getting guaranteed scoring from the blueline from Broberg, they could use a second-pairing defender to bring in some offense. He's got room to grow across a longer-term deal, and could be a good spot option for when Parayko begins to slow down as he ages.
Is St. Louis a possible destination?
Elliott Friedman shared his thoughts on a Nikishin trade on Friday morning, saying both that "[Carolina] is trying to figure out how to do a direct trade for Nikishin, but that's boring," and "what if it's an attempt to do a three-way or (Connor) Hellebuyck or something else."
That said, Friedman has also reported that Nikishin doesn't want to go to Winnipeg. This could lead to the Hurricanes trying to flip him somewhere else to get a player to trade to Winnipeg and get Hellebuyck.
Other potential trade markets may have the better options for the Hurricanes, but the Blues shouldn't be counted out as an option. Trading for Nikishin could take them past that messy middle.
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