Gord's Notebook: Hughes stays, Nikishin signs, and Edmonton's net is next

Two of the standoffs that filled this notebook all month ended inside 72 hours, and neither one ended with a trade. Nikishin signed, and Quinn Hughes all but said he's staying in Minnesota. My read: the market just lost its two best stories, and the next real one is a net in Edmonton nobody has a report on yet.

1. Hughes is staying, and he said so first. Quinn Hughes said in Seattle that his feet are "planted" in Minnesota and that "something could happen soon" on a contract. He's a pending UFA on $7.85 million, extension-eligible since July 1. Grade: On the record.

The read: Players don't say "soon" in October unless the number is already on the table. He's at 16 points in 13 games and 27.0 minutes a night, per NHL data, and he scored in Vancouver on Sunday through the boos. The press release is the only thing left. File under: Extension watch.

2. Nikishin blinked, on a one-year deal. Carolina announced it Sunday night: one year, $3 million. LeBrun had the logic weeks ago, and it held: the Hurricanes wanted one year so both sides can revisit it in the summer, when he'll be offer-sheet eligible for the first time. Grade: On the record.

The read: I said nobody in Raleigh needed to blink, and nobody did. Kochetkov is 7-0 at .916 and the team is 7-1 on the road, per NHL data. The Blues keep their firsts. The real date on this file is July 1, when another team can set his price.

3. Winnipeg's new era opened with a 2-1 loss. The Hellebuyck return was Mercer, Daws, Bjugstad, Command, a 2029 second and a 2027 seventh. Mercer's first night as a Jet was the Heritage Classic: 15.4 minutes, two shots, no points, per NHL data. Cheveldayoff said it came down to the teams with legitimate goaltending needs. Grade: On the record.

The read: The Jets are 0-3-2 in their last five, per NHL data, Skinner is at .911 through eight starts, and the forward they got back has no goals in 11 games. Hellebuyck's parting line was "I hope they know I care about them." That's a hard sell in that building.

4. What the numbers say: Buffalo's autopsy. Friedman went through why the Sabres lost the auction Monday morning, and the piece he kept coming back to was the draft-slot swap: "I've always heard that the 4-8 switch was a very big deal." Winnipeg wanted to pick fourth and keep eighth, and Buffalo wouldn't.

Buffalo kept its pick and kept its problem. Luukkonen is at .866 through eight starts, Ellis at .864 in three, the kill is at 69.2 percent and the last five are 1-1-3, per NHL data. Lyon has no return date. That's a team back in the goalie market by December. File under: Trade winds.

5. The next goalie market is Edmonton's. Levi went on injured reserve Saturday with an undisclosed injury from Thursday's game. Jarry started against Toronto and gave up seven. Tomkins came up from Bakersfield on an emergency recall, and Ekholm is out one to two weeks on top of it.

Nobody has a call on the record. The numbers say one is coming: Jarry is at .861 through four starts and the kill is at 70.0 percent, per NHL data, on a team with McDavid at 33 points in 11 games. Grade: my handicap, not a report. File under: Trade winds.

6. Larkin's map now has a door marked Montreal. LeBrun said Thursday that Larkin could still add the Canadiens to his 10-team list, that Detroit is actively scouting Montreal, and that Montreal's interest predates the Suzuki injury. Boston and Los Angeles aren't on the list either. Grade: Reported.

The read: A chant doesn't amend a no-trade list; the player does, so adding Montreal is Larkin's lever, not Detroit's. His minutes have fallen three straight games, 23.0 to 20.2 to 19.6, per NHL data, after a season-high 24.7 on Oct. 17. Detroit is 4-3-3 in its last 10 with a 65.8 percent kill. File under: Trade winds.

7. Edvinsson is the Detroit file that moves first. LeBrun has Detroit talking to as many as 10 teams, San Jose and Boston among them, with Horcoff still saying he'd rather sign the player. Edvinsson prefers a trade and hasn't formally asked for one. The comparables are the Sergachev, Dobson and Byram deals. Grade: Reported on the calls, Rumbling on the trade.

The read: Detroit is running two auctions with an interim GM, and the unsigned one is cheaper to close. Boston is 4-0-1 in its last five at plus-12, per NHL data, and shops like a team that thinks it's good. Two firsts for a 6-foot-6 23-year-old is a Bruins kind of overpay. File under: Extension watch.

8. Pittsburgh's easy sale just got harder. Dubas is open on Karlsson, Letang, Rakell and Rust; I went through the four on Saturday. Since then, the team said Rust will be re-evaluated in six weeks with a lower-body injury, which takes the one contract with no protection off the market for now. Grade: On the record.

The read: Karlsson played 26.2 minutes Saturday with an assist, 23.5 a night with 12 points in 12 games, per NHL data, and he holds a full no-move. He picks the city. A cash team with a playoff spot gets him by New Year's. File under: Trade winds.

9. Toronto's streak bought Chayka time; its IR list spent it. Four straight wins, 7-2 over Edmonton Saturday, a 95.2 percent kill and a 30.2 percent power play, per NHL data. Blankenburg and Rifai went on injured reserve the same day, week to week. Friedman's line still stands: a premium asset for a difference-maker, no band-aids. Grade: Reported.

The read: Rielly's minutes came back, 21.1, 22.8, 21.0 and 18.9 in the last four, per NHL data, after dipping under 18. The Leafs are the Leafs: they'll win five in a row and trade the Colorado first anyway. File under: Trade winds.

10. Calgary's chips are getting expensive. Three straight wins, over the champions, Minnesota and Detroit, and Cooley said the lottery crowd's messages read "just stop winning idiot." He's 3-2 at .911 while Wolf sits at .834, and the power play is at 32.0 percent, per NHL data. Grade: Rumbling on the sell-off, after Pagnotta's calls on Whitecloud.

The read: Frost has a point in four straight and Farabee in five, per NHL data. Whitecloud has none in 10 games at 20.6 minutes, which is the job, not a knock. Every win raises Conroy's ask. File under: Cap crunch.

11. Doughty set his own price. "I think I can play until over 40," he said Monday, and then the part that matters: "I think that I'll take a team-friendly deal and stay in L.A." Holland said in June there'd be no summer extension, and they haven't talked. Grade: On the record.

The read: He's at 21.0 minutes a night with one point in nine games, per NHL data, on a 2-5-2 team that's 0-3 at home. A player announcing his own discount in October has heard the alternative. It gets done in the spring, one year at a time. File under: Extension watch.

12. Florida's trade is Barkov in December. The studio idea that Larkin goes to Florida is Noise; the Panthers were never on his list, and I ran the sheets two weeks ago. Barkov is six to eight weeks as of Oct. 6, Marchand six weeks as of Oct. 9, Markstrom 10 to 14 days. Pabs has the board.

The read: The kill is at 84.9 percent, per NHL data, and Luostarinen has gone 10 games without a point at 16.0 minutes. That's a lineup problem, not a cap problem. File under: Cap crunch.

13. Housekeeping. Konecny trade talk is Noise; Kurz called it "incredibly unlikely." O'Reilly to Montreal is a column idea, not a report: Noise. Voronkov stays at 11.0 minutes a night while Columbus listens. Chabot is one to two weeks in Ottawa. And Hellebuyck is back in Winnipeg Nov. 10. See item 3. The notebook always ends up back there.