This is the PERFECT trade...

This is the perfect trade as the Carolina Hurricanes and Alexander Nkechian are at a stalemate in contract negotiations. I think it's time for them to start weighing their options on trading him out for somebody else. In this video we're going to break down everything about his negotiations thus far, what kind of trade we're looking for for Alexander Nkechian, and so much more so you're not going to miss this episode of NHL Digest. But before we dive into everything here, just want to give a huge shout out to all you guys who have had our continued support here on the channel. We're on the road for 20,000 subscribers before the season starts, so if you're new here and you want to stay up to date on the latest news around the league, we're home for it here on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button, it is completely free to do so. But we got a lot to talk about today including Alexander Nkechian and how his extension talks have been going. After having a great first full season in the NHL, he is looking to get paid, essentially. This is great, obviously winning the Stanley Cup in his first year. He was asked today about the rumors of him wanting $8 million in his extension. This is what he had to say, basically he was asked in an interview, are these rumors true? He said, simply, more. So it seems like, to me, if you read the fine print here that negotiations are pretty far off between player and team here, Nkechian obviously wanting more than $8 million, seeing the crazy contracts that are getting dished out this offseason, it's only fair to him as a player who wants his money to want a little bit more than $8 million considering who is getting paid this offseason. So it's going to be interesting to see what kind of contract he does dish out. Right now Carolina is kind of in the red area when it comes to cap. They got $9 million in cap space, don't get me wrong, but I think Nkechian is a player who can get $10 million easily on an extension. I think he is a player who, even on a 5 year deal, would warrant a $10 million contract, especially in how volatile the market is right now. So I definitely think he would amount that money, no doubt about it. So I think the Carolina Hurricanes are kind of going to be handcuffed here into maybe trading him out if this is the way it's going and how much money he is demanding. Obviously the number is not out there, but if he's saying more than $8 million, I'd say it's probably in the $9, $9.5 to $10 million range, maybe even higher. Interesting stuff coming out of Carolina, but I do want to say, like I said, he could get traded and there has been links to him and the St. Louis Blues. As Jeremy Rutherford says, the Blues have shown interest in Nkechian and will continue to do so, assuming he's available. At this point, when these RFAs still aren't signed this late into the summer, a lot of teams are going to be calling and asking about these players and if they're available for a trade. As we know, Alexander Nkechian does not meet the games met to have an offer sheet thrown at him, so they don't have to worry about it in that case, but they still need to worry about having him signed for the start of the season. With training camps starting up, you would like to have this contract done before then and if St. Louis comes through with the right offer, I think we could see Alexander Nkechian in his St. Louis Blues uniform before the season starts. Let's just take a look at what a mock trade would look like. IceMetric on Twitter put out a mock trade that looks something like this. The Carolina Hurricanes receive Jake Neighbors, Theo Lindstein, and a first round pick for Alexander Nkechian. I do think this is the perfect trade to happen here for these players. I think Jake Neighbors, a great power forward who can jump up into the top six, even play middle six minutes for this Carolina Hurricanes team this season, and a first round pick that is going to be pretty valuable from the St. Louis Blues if they do trade the first round pick for 2027. If it's 2028, maybe that value goes a little bit down, but I do think for a 24-year-old defenseman in Alexander Nkechian, this is the package that is worth trading for. The Carolina Hurricanes get rid of this problem of contract negotiating and the St. Louis Blues can take it over. Maybe we see a sign-in trade in place happen here or something like this if this trade does happen. They also get a great power forward that is the same age at 24 to add to their team for their future as well. And with a team like Carolina whose defensive core is a bit more deeper than other rosters, they can afford to take this hit rather than some other teams around the league. But for St. Louis Blues fans watching, maybe don't know a whole bunch about Alexander Nkechian, let's talk about how this player has been playing through his first full season. He's a two-way defenseman who uses his massive frame to deliver body checks, shut down rush attacks and combines his bruising defensive presence with elite skating, exceptional vision and has a huge shot from the blue line. Just taking a look at his career stats here, Alexander Nkechian did have a pretty good season for the Carolina Hurricanes. He averaged about 18 minutes a night. This is a guy who can come in and play top blue line for you on a nightly basis if you are a St. Louis Blues fan. I do just want to take a look at those blocks and hits totals when talking about Nkechian. 94 blocks, 132 hits last season. He was playing really good, no doubt about it. And he had 11 goals. Like I said, he has a big shot from back here. 33 points maybe doesn't jump right off the page at you. He's a great guy who can get it done in all areas of hockey and only has one year of experience under his belt. He's only going to continue to get better season after season after season. Yes, he is a left shot defenseman. That is something the St. Louis Blues could definitely use right now. Looking at what it would look like with Nkechian on this team, I do have this contract at five years, $10 million on this Puckpedia trade. But I do like Nkechian and Pareko together. I think these guys could really make some magic happen on that top period. I think Nkechian is a guy who can log those 20 plus minutes a night. And I just think this is a top pairing blue liner on the left side for this team. And I just think this would be a great trade for the St. Louis Blues. They made a lot happen this offseason by getting in McTavish and guys like this. And I really do think this new look Blues team is going to look good, especially if they go out and get a guy like Alexander Nkechian. When you look at their cap situation, they are only $4 million in the green right now. But trading out Jake Nabors and Lin Stein will put you around that $9 million range. So you can make some moves happen to lock this guy up to a $10 million contract. There's not going to be a whole lot of room left to make space. But I definitely think that it will be able to get done if St. Louis sees fit that this is their first line blue liner for the future. So I do like this, but I do want to talk about the Carolina Hurricanes side of it as they will get a guy like Jake Nabors. And maybe if you're a Hurricanes fan tuning in and don't know much about Jake Nabors, let's look at a breakdown of his game. He's a power forward who excels at driving the net, winning board battles, establishing a strong net front presence. He combines his gritty work ethic and lethal shooting touch, making him highly effective at scoring dirty goals and contributing to the power play. Another guy who can mix it up with the mitts as well, getting into a few fights. But looking at Jake Nabors career stats, he has a little bit more of experience under his belt than Alexander Nkechian. Both the same age though. Last season got into 69 games where he had 36 points, 15 goals, 21 assists. He also got into a full 82 the season before where he had 46 points. And this is a guy who I've enjoyed watching since he was in the World Junior tournaments. And I think he is a great power forward in this league today. And I do think he's still at 24 years old, is only entering the prime of his career and can continue to tribute, can continue to contribute to any team that he is on. And when you're looking at these stats, kind of similar to Alexander Nkechian, these guys kind of play the two-way style of game. One guy's a forward, one guy's a defenseman. And I do think Jake Nabors could really revitalize this top six going into a season where the Carolina Hurricanes look to repeat the Stanley Cup. So I like this guy. I think he's a good player. And I really do think that the St. Louis Blues, I mean, the Carolina Hurricanes would love to acquire him if they do have to end up shipping out Alexander Nkechian. I do just want to take a look at what this new look Carolina Hurricanes team will look like with this guy in the roster. You see here, I got him plotted in here on this second line per ice metric neighborhood, Nabors and Stankoven and Jarvis. I think that would be a great line for this team. Having a big body like Nabors is a guy who's going to park it in front of the net will be great for guys like Jarvis and Stankoven who are great off the rush. I just really think this rounds out their top six going into this season. And when you look at the defensive core here, losing Nkechian, but then you also still have Slavin, Keiondre Miller, and now Lindstein on that left side. I do think this decor is still very serviceable with these players in the lineup right now. So I'm a fan of this trade for both teams. I really am. I do think the St. Louis Blues obviously need a defenseman on that left side. And obviously the right shot defenseman is the one to go get nowadays in the NHL. So I do think that they're pretty good on that side. And I think adding a left defenseman will be great for this team. And then on the other side of the coin, I do think the Carolina Hurricanes are obviously needing to maybe get rid of this player because they can't get an extension in place. So it only makes sense for them to do what's best for the team and go out and round out their offense by getting a guy like Jake Gaber. So I want to hear your guys thoughts down below in the comment section. What do you think? Do you think this is a realistic scenario that can happen? Do you think we're going to see Nkechian traded? Do you think he's going to sign? Let me know down below in the comment section. If you enjoyed, leave a like. Subscribe to the channel as always. I've been your host KC. Keep sticking on the ice.