Knowing that the team was not going to re-sign defenseman Nikita Nikitin, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen may have made something out of nothing by allowing the Oilers to talk contact with Nikitin.
Clarification: EDM has window in which it's permissible to negotiate with CBJ pending UFA Nikita Nikitin, but no trade has yet been made.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 20, 2014Bottom line: EDM is, for a specified time, able to make a pitch to Nikitin. If a contract can be worked out, EDM and CBJ can conclude trade.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 20, 2014While there has been no word on the return, Columbus will presumably get a late round draft choice in exchange for Nikitin if he signs with Edmonton.
The 28-year-old defenseman is set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, but under the current format teams are able to talk to pending free agents as early as June 25, so Edmonton will have less than a week to get a deal done.
Nikitin had 15 points in 66 regular season games while posting middle-of-the-pack possession numbers on a pretty good squad. His shot-attempt for numbers weren't great (a hair under 50%), however, he was good in the 5 vs 5 goals for department, as almost 56% of goals scored while he was on the ice were Blue Jackets goals.
Nikitin also produced points at a fairly good rate during 5 vs 5 play, as he posted .85 points per 60, which would rank 2nd among defensemen on the Oilers behind only Justin Schultz.
It remains to be seen if Edmonton can get him locked up before he's able to talk to other franchises, but it's a reasonable gamble depending on the price. Nikitin is a serviceable defenseman who at 28 still has some good years ahead of him, and I think he'd be a nice add to an Oilers team desperate to improve their back end.
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