Quote:
Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19
Fair to say, but for the two years previous to that he was their top pairing guy with Tyutin and played quite well overall - he was fantastic in 2012. So, sure, not a great year for him (though his Fenwick close % was still over 50% and third on the team), but not sure if you want to judge him based on that or a longer track record.
You may be right though, he may be on a steep and sudden decline. If so, the term limits the downside risk on this one.
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That's fair, I didn't look that far back. Perhaps a new lease on life and the chance to be a top pairing guy is the spark that Nikitin needs.
My bet, with the commitment to team defense, quality defensive partners and cutting edge swarm defense strategy, Nikitin is setting himself up for a trip to Vegas next June to accept his Norris (or the KHL like the many before him).