Bruins Linked to Alexander Nikishin! Should Boston Make This Trade?

1. Do you think the Bruins should be interested?

2. LD: Lindholm, Lohrei, Zadorov, Aspirot
   RD: McAvoy, Borgen, Clifton, Jokiharju
   They don’t need a RD more than they do a LD. Nikishin would be acquired to be a massive upgrade over Aspirot to pair with McAvoy. And if Lohrei goes in the deal, there’s the spot freed up.

   There are numerous reasons Nikishin would not be a viable trade target for the Bruins. But needing a RD over a LD is not one of them.

3. If they are linked that means they are not linked

4. I like this trade from Boston’s perspective, but it really boils down to whether or not Boston has real plans to play Poitras on the NHL roster.

   If Boston continues to view Poitras as an AHL forward, then yes, it’s time to move him in a trade

5. i wish bruind would just offer sheet him and trade lohrei and joki for picks back in draft next year, those two wont wanna be around with all these rumours, they drop those two and eyssionmont and kuraly im happy

6. 7:01. Poitras was never playing in Boston to begin with, there would be no hole created. Letourneau, Hagens and minten have all leap frogged poitras. There’s no real reason to keep him if he’s the tipping point in a trade to improve the every game roster. Lohrei may not have hit his ceiling yet, but his is also much lower than nikishin. Nikishin could end up being a core piece and a solid top pair guy next to mcavoy. There’s no reason that lohrei or poitras or both should be a deal breaker. Neither guy has been a reliable nhler.

7. So the promise is we get Nikishin and hope he is good enough to play top pair with McAvoy in exchange for Lohrei whose expectation is to hopefully mature into a guy who can play top pair with McAvoy. Nikishin is probably closer to that "on paper", but will also cost a lot more against the cap. The second part of the deal is Poitras. I really don't want the Bruins to rush Hagens and Letourneau to the NHL right away because I fear they are just going to put them in positions they can't succeed (similar to what has been done with poitras already) and try to force them to become players they are not. I.e. "defensively responsible" while suppressing their other gifts and talents, or thrusting them to the wing. I'm personally hoping they move Lindholm to the right wing given the situation with his back and allow Poitras and Mitten to compete for 2C/3C.

   As for the draft pick, really depends where it is. Sweeney's drafting is mediocre at best throughout his tenure.

8. The Bruins have nothing behind Charlie McAvoy at RHD except old and not long term future players in Borgan & Clifton

   Their entire Farm System also lacks a single, real NHL RHD prospect

   In their pipeline at LHD beyond Liam Pettersson it's nothing but Don Sweeney's stable of late round, long shot development players in Brunet Groenwold Johannson Blanar Kostadinski

   That is somewhat of an argument for trading for an LHD like Nikishin but as they have extremely limited assets to improve anywhere on their roster today & because they also have far bigger roster holes than LHD, giving up future 1sts and high end prospects for an LHD would seem foolish right now

   Also, why would CAR swap out Nikishin for Lohrei as that would just makes them worse?

   Matt Poitras has also been in the AHL these past two years

   He's small, weak, not a great skater and although he may have improved his details away from the puck in the AHL, nothing about Poitras offense game has significantly improved

   He's not a naturally gifted goal scorer nor is he an elite play maker

   I hate to break it to you but a limited bottom pair Lohrei and a limited Matt Poitras whose been in the AHL these past two years is not enough to obtain a player of Nikishin's caliber

   A realistic trade offer would be a future 1st, a real prospect at least at the caliber of Will Moore or Liam Pettersson and probably one of their other defensive prospects such as Brunet or Groenwold and even calling those two guys good, high end defensive prospects CAR would be interested in would be a stretch as again, they're both nothing late round, shot development players themselves

   The Bruins bigger needs are also still at RHD, 1C, a future 2C and at Top 6 LW

   Again, giving up any assets to improve at LHD doesn't seem to make much sense for them today and again, if they do seek an LHD upgrade, it's going to cost far more than a limited bottom pair Lohrei and a has been in the AHL these past two years Matt Poitras

   Chances Nikishin gets traded to Boston? Under 5%

   Chances Nikishin gets traded to Boston for Mason Lohrei and Matt Poitras -200%

9. I was watching a Carolina podcast they were talking about trading nikishin. Apparently he wants 8 mil

10. I like that they're trying to grab him. They would need to ship out Lohrei and someone else on the left side. Bolstering that defense is a priority and so is trading some of our defensemen

11. At this point, I'm guessing that Poitras has more value to other teams than he does to Boston. Assuming that's true, I wouldn't be surprised to see him as part of a deal this summer. I don't think Lohrei makes a huge difference in any trade situation. I suppose he's NHL ready in the sense that he's played in the NHL. Personally, I like Lohrei's ceiling and I don't think we've seen it. Nikishin would certainly be an upgrade and I love the idea of generating more offense from the backend. THe NHL is moving that way and Boston should, too. An open question for me (possibly a future video?) is how often trade rumors involving Sweeney pan out versus trades coming out of the blue (e.g. Peterka). I assume that any rumor is likely an attempt to manipulate sentiment or misdirect from actual targets. It's what I would do if I were running things. Thanks for the content!

12. When was the last time a player linked to the B’s actually materialized?

13. I would absolutely be interested if I was Boston. He's younger, and already better than Lohrei. I'm not nearly as high on Poitras as most people, but he seems like he continues to slide down the depth chart. He's already behind Hagens and Locmelis. Next year he'll be behind Dean, and the year after that he'll be behind Zellers.

    Poitras has major injury concerns, and he did not dominate at the AHL level you would expect him to if he was knocking on the door.

    To me; it's much more about Nikishin's asking price over what our trade package would be. If you can lock him up for 6×6, I think thats a good, fair deal. Maybe we can talk them into Jokiharju if the draft pick is a little higher?

    You'd have the russian pair of Nikishin and Zadorov 🙂

14. Who would be a better player for boston to trade for- nikishin or shane wright?

15. Trade Lohrei

16. Defensemen take a bit more time to develop, so a good 24 year old should always generate some interest but not at the price of Poitras and a pick in any deal. I would do Zadorov for sure, though. Doesn't solve the right shot issue, but talent outweighs that to me. 6-9 mil per isn't a ludicrous contract given the cap jumps and what value a player can provide for that. As always, solid analysis, Court. Thanks for keeping us in the loop. A couple more months until regular season returns!

17. If that’s the package what are we waiting for?? If they don’t want poitras does khusnutdinov get it done?

18. There’s lots of teams out there that need both LHD and RHD, I don’t see a world where the bruins have problems moving some of their extra D.

    B’s fans have been asking for smart trades. We don’t know what Poitras is going to be and we kind of know what Lohrei is going to be, but not entirely. We already know what Nikishin is (with room to grow a lot). I am always on the side of get the sure thing. If you can get a top pairing LHD to play with McAvoy for the next 6+ years, you should do it.

    Lohrei and Poitras are some of their better assets and using them along with a pick or something else is a lot to give up, but look at Carolina. Good teams are willing to move pieces for high level talent, which Nikishin is. And if Nikishin is asking for around $8 million (which is the rumor I saw), that will be nothing for a top pairing D in two years.

    Your top pair would be making less than Leo Carlsson, at least lol

19. I think we either need to move out some defensemen to get him or just stay the path and see what we have right now and make a more informed decision at the deadline.

20. Honestly Lorehi potsy and a pick sounds fair to me. I would wonder if you could do a Hampus and a pick swap contract is already good Hampus can be a 2nd-3rd pair guy and they get cost control and he gets a chance to win now. However I’d give them Potsy and a second and third and try to use Lorehi to get Wright.

21. We need more scoring 😭

22. I'd be hesitant. If the pick is a 1st I'd say no thanks. How much is he actually asking for? 8-9 mil? for a 24 yr old rookie with only 1 year of experience, I can't imagine Sweeney doing that.

23. I just wish they would give Poitras a real chance he’s really done nothing wrong that they should bury him providence forever. Okay he did get hurt but that happens if he’s learned not to do that trying to reverse all the time along the boards because it pretty well what he did the majority of time . Keep him . Even if it’s between Kastilic and Jeannot give him ice time . Kuraly should have never been given a 2 year contract .

24. He’s a great player but the bruins don’t need him. Is there a bonafide top six center available for the exact same price tag? 🦄

25. I want Poitras back in the lineup this year

26. Bruins should be kicking the tires on all options.

27. To be fair, we also need a good, relatively young LD to play with McAvoy. It was just less of a need than RD because Aspirot was admirable in that spot last year but, you'd rather not have him be your long term solution there.

    I'm all for going after a guy like Nikishin or Romanov in NYI as long as we don't mortgage the future.

    EDIT: Lohrei + Poitras + picks is an easy yes immediately from me!

28. Are we collecting right shot D now?

    As much as I don't like the Borgen trade, he's here now and we signed Clifton AND we still have Jokiharju on the roster… Only 3 RD can play at one time…

29. A few things: Pagnotta is not a shyster, but he has been wrong a number of times in the past 3-4 years, especially concerning the Bruins, so I have learned not to rely heavily on things he reports, sorry;

    And I'll just admit I read Goldman's analysis yesterday in The Athletic, and 2 things stood out that makes me think this isn't a good fit with the Bruins, aside from the real need coming from the right side of the D.
    1. Reporting that Tulsky often tends to "win" his trades, which is more like Sweeney's thing, lol (and the warning that CAR may know something about this desirable-looking young player to be willing to trade him; that's more like a Bruins thing to do), and 2. Analysis that Nikishin paired with Gostisbehere has played sheltered minutes, so yes he has great upside but let's pump the brakes on overpaying:

    "Carolina insulated Nikishin from playing against the opponents’ best — even in the early goings of the season when the Canes were short-handed with Jaccob Slavin sidelined. And that carried throughout the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs. Nikishin and Shayne Gostisbehere put up pretty sparkling postseason numbers, but were so sheltered thanks to Slavin and Jalen Chatfield doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and the second pair of K’Andre Miller and Sean Walker helping shoulder that burden." https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7434452/2026/07/10/hurricanes-alexander-nikishin-trade-analysis/

30. Trade Minten to Calgary for Whitecloud

31. Better hurry before the Rangers get him straight up for fabian Lysell….

32. I would do this trade in a heartbeat this kid reminds me of orlov and a smaller Zadorov more offensive minded and doesn’t take as many penalties as Zadorov

33. I like the idea of Nikishin much more than Nurse.

34. Honestly dont care as long as the dont mess with hagens laternau or zellers. They can bring in bozo the clown for all I care not like we be true contenders for cup in next 3 years especially theese mega teams .my opinion means nothing you all have amazing week

35. I do like Nikishin, but once again the B's are going after a position that would be nice to have, but they don't need. The assets need to be spent on a RHD and/or a 1C (which is a pipe dream at this point). Agree the ask for both Lohrei/Poitras plus a pick is high. The other thing that concerns me is if this deal is made what happens to Brunet? He's a left shot and they're bringing in a player to fill his spot rather than filling the slot with a younger Bruins player. Agreed with all your comments about Poitras. The B's still haven't signed him, so I'm wondering if there is some debate about his role moving forward, since even if he's slotted in at 4C he will be blocked moving up. Would the Canes or another possible trade destination prefer to just gain his rights and then sign him themselves or would a team want him signed before the Bruins move him? Eager to see where Nikishin ends up!

36. Are we still under the collective delusion that Poitras will ever be a staple of the Bruins lineup?? He not bad, but they’ve basically given him the same chance they gave Lysell over the past couple of years. They’re not gonna give him the ice time he needs to prove himself like they did with Minten. IMO, if he’s got any value as a prospect in a trade that helps our defense, or picking up a proven goal scorer… I’d put him in a package for sure

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