Evgeni Medvedev wasn't the first KHL player to defect to the NHL and it seems, per the latest report, that he won't be the last. Shortly after Medvedev jumped across the pond to join the Philadelphia Flyers, another major KHL figure, Team Russia Captain and KHL defenseman Ilya Nikulin is reportedly set to do the same. Only Nikulin likely isn't looking at the Flyers as a potential destination. While not much is yet known about Nikulin's plans, Slava Malamud of Sports-Express.ru reports both that he's headed to the NHL and that Nikulin is Washington Capitals captain and All World forward Alexander Ovechkin's "best friend."
As Jared Clinton of The Hockey news notes, it's a shocking development in that the 33-year-old Nikulin has very much been the face of Russian hockey, both as a member of the RSL and the KHL, and as a captain and veteran presence on many recent Russian national teams, over the last several years.
"For much of the past four seasons, Nikulin has been either the captain or a veteran leader on Russian national squads that competed at the World Championship, European Hockey Tour, Olympics and other international events," writes Clinton.
For the Capitals, there does seem to be a place for Nikulin on the back-end of their blueline, depending on what kind of role he'd expect in the NHL. While Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, John Carlson and Karl Alzner constitute a fairly strong top-four, Dmitry Orlov, John Erskine and Tim Gleason could certainly be upgraded. Of course, the team has just $469,041 in cap space at the moment, per GeneralFanager.com, so making Nikulin fit under the cap would take some maneuvering.
Nikulin has been courted by the NHL before. Nikulin was selected by the then-Atlanta Thrashers with the 31st pick in the 2000 NHL Draft. He never made the move to North America though, and has spent a decade with the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan, the same team that Medvedev left earlier this offseason.
Over the past two seasons, Nikulin has potted 18 goals and gathered 53 points in 110 games as a captain in 2013-14 and an alternate in 2014-15 with Kazan. He's also a four-time Russian champion.
