​According to insider Elliotte Friedman, the Nashville Predators have shown interest in Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin this summer. Nikishin, 24, is currently a restricted free agent who has been unable to come to terms with Hurricanes, a team known for signing players to contracts below market value. Nikishin is coming out of his rookie season, after spending six seasons in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. He even served as the captain of one of Russia’s most historic organizations, SKA St. Petersburg, for two seasons.  Although he only has one NHL season under his belt, it seems safe to say that Nikishin has already proven how valuable he can be at this level. Of course, there’s always a risk signing a player with such a small track record to a large contract, but it does have the opportunity to become one of the best value contracts if it works out. Last season, Nikishin played in 81 games and had 33 points on the blue line, 11 of which were goals. Friedman mentioned that Nikishin may be using Zeev Buium’s new contract extension, $75.04 million over eight years, as a comparable for himself. It seems unlikely that Carolina would be willing to make the young defenseman their second-highest paid player given their historical precedent. Whether or not Chris MacFarland is willing do make Nikishin the Predators’ highest-paid player remains to be seen, but it’ll likely become a reality if a trade is made.