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Columbus Blue Jackets lock defenseman Nikita Nikitin with 2-year, $4.3 million contract -NHL Update

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Columbus Blue Jackets lock defenseman Nikita Nikitin with 2-year, $4.3 million contract -NHL Update
Columbus Blue Jackets announced the signing of their top-level defenseman, Nikita Nikitin, on Thursday, June 28, 2012, to a two-year deal with an estimated worth of $4.3 million, keeping him on the team well through the 2013-2014 National Hockey League (NHL)
regular season.
Nikitin had a breakthrough season with the Blue Jackets as a career high of 32 points (7 goals, 25 assists) in 54 games after being traded by St. Louis Blues. He made just 48 appearances in the NHL with Blues during the past 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 regular
seasons collectively but Blue Jackets were able to fully unleash his potential.
It was after mid-November of 2011 that Nikitin really broke out of the bubble and ended the season as the 17th highest scoring defenseman in the league. He was up in the ranks of Montreal Canadiens’ P.K Subban, Duncan Keith and Toronto Maple Leafs’
captain Dion Phaneuf.
Columbus utilized the 26-year-old defender by pairing him up with Fedor Tyutin during the previous season which worked well for the team along with a pair of Jack Johnson and James Wisniewski.
Selected as the 136th overall player back in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft during the fifth round, the Omsk, Russia native, has played in a total of 102 games up until now. He has 41 points (8 goals, 33 assists) and 28 minutes in penalty time under
his belt.
The new deal comes as a major boost from the previous contracts that Nikitin has held throughout his career. His last one was signed with the St. Louis Blues and had a value of $600,000. The new deal will have $4.3 million with an annual salary cap hit of
$2.15 million.
Having Nikitin on the Blue Jackets club is more of a growing process for the player seeing his breakthrough performance last time around. Columbus has given him two years to continue showing that he is indeed a consistent member of the club and could result
in a longer deal next time for the player.
Nikita Nikitin was acquired by the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 11 in exchange for defenseman Kris Russell.

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