If this is true, I'm going to somehow be more upset about that trade.

WOW, that's a good offer and frankly IMO better than what the SJS took. Morrow is really good at hockey. Gotta think similar conditions were on those picks though. I doubt the SJS turn down two automatic 1sts.

Didn't it just say a 1st, 2nd, a prospect that wasn't Nikishin and some smaller pieces?

This is what Lebrun reported, but my understanding is that the Canes did offer the second first with conditions. I’m no insider so
Lebrun knows more than me.

It came down to No Nikishin and you’re out. Canes said we are out.


From LeBrun;

“The Canes tried valiantly over the past 10 days, especially. One of their final offers had six pieces in it, including a first-round pick and a second-round pick, plus prospects. But the one young player they never relented in not wanting to move is Russian blueliner Alexander Nikishin. It might have been a game-changer had Carolina included him in the package, but I don’t blame the Canes for wanting to keep him. They have big plans for him.“

Grier must have liked Mukhamadullin more than Morrow... or adding Zetterlund beats out those others, I guess?
and do we know what kind of conditions Carolina was putting on those 1sts? Just like NJ making the ECF in 2023 or 2024 on the 2024 1st otherwise it drops to 2nd. Carolina may have had tough conditions

I would have done it. Nikishin plays on a team that's just better than the rest of the league as a whole. Not just 1 player. I'm pretty sure it's now 7 straight years being the league's top team. Hard to say going from 4 assists with Moscow Spartak for the full year to 44 is all due to him/his development. It's at least in part because of the team he's on. It's also 3 years from now that his contract is up and CAR would still have had Morrow / Heimo.

No where does LeBrun say whether or not Nikishin was a sticking point. All he says is that he wasn’t on the table and that he assumes that it may have made a difference, nothing definitive.

Nowhere does he say, the Canes said “they’re out”

Reading comprehension is a lost art

I do not know the conditions 100%, but it’s highly unlikely that those where the sticking points. Quite clear that Canes weren’t getting Meier without Nikishin.

If you’re looking for black/white definitives you won’t find them. Appreciate your jab regarding reading comprehension.

It’s quite clear that Sharks weren’t trading Meier to the Canes without Nikishin. I’d ask you to tell me why it didn’t happen then.

I’m not going to make such bold assumptions on such little information.

makes sense. I guess they were fixated on getting a big russian defesemen for the meier return