The roller coaster train ride of Valeri Nichushkin

Managing Editor’s Note: I am going to do the best I can to get the correct information and reaction around a very sensitive topic surrounding Valeri Nichushkin. If I get anything wrong, I sincerely apologize and will correct my mistake as soon as possible to make sure we correctly are on top of things. Please be respectful of Nichushkin, his family, and the others in the replies in the comments section and on social media who might be sensitive to this topic. We at Mile High Hockey wish all the best for Nichushkin in his recovery in the coming months and hope for a full recovery off the ice first before making a return on the ice.

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When the Colorado Avalanche climbed to the peak of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022, so many different players played a huge role in making it happen. Gabriel Landeskog played through a serious knee injury, possibly sacrificing his career to win the Stanley Cup - he hasn’t played since.

Nazem Kadri made history, being the first Muslim-born hockey player to win the Stanley Cup. He fought through setbacks, racism, and injury to score the clutch Game Four overtime winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning in his return to the ice to help dramatically seal the win.

You have your usual suspects in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar leading the way, with the latter of the two winning the Conn Smythe. Artturi Lehkonen, a trade deadline move scored the championship-winning goal and has been a mainstay in the Avalanche squad since.

And then, you have the quietly underrated performance of Valeri Nichushkin.

Nichushkin scored four goals and tallied two assists in those six games against the Lightning, with one of those two apples being on the Game One overtime winner by Andre Burakovsky. He was a goalscorer on the power play, and willing his way to get on the scoresheet - doing it all with a broken foot along the way.

When the offseason came around, Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland had a hard choice to make: re-sign his second-line center coming off a career year (Kadri), re-sign a right-winger who could score at will but struggled with injury and inconsistency (Burakovsky), or re-sign a power forward fitting into Jared Bednar’s system perfectly (Nichushkin).

With little money on the books to sign all three, they decided to go with Nichushkin to continue his growth and experience with a winning team. He had been resurging after a dull start with the Dallas Stars in his career, and the Avs took a chance on him. On July 11, 2022, they rewarded his efforts with a new eight-year, $49 million deal to keep him in Colorado for the majority of his career.

It started well in the 2022-23 season, as he recorded 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points in 53 games as he struggled with injury. Healthy going into the playoffs, there was hope of him repeating his similar success in the 2022 playoff run against the newcomers, the Seattle Kraken in the first round.

But then, out of nowhere, he was whisked away from the team for an unknown reason and did not make an appearance until the start of the 2023-24 season. It was later revealed an intoxicated woman who was nearly unconscious was found in his hotel room, saying “he’s crazy” about an unnamed person. Nichushkin was cleared of all wrongdoing soon after an investigation both from the Seattle Police Department and an independent investigation by the NHL.

Coming into the new season, there was hope Val would make a statement and put it behind him. But, his progress would take a step back when he entered the NHL Player Assistance Program for the first time in January. He returned in March and looked to be a changed man afterward.

But little did anyone know, Nichushkin was still hurting on the inside. Before the start of Game Four Monday night, it was announced Nichushkin had entered the Player Assistance Program for the second time in five months. But different from the first time, he entered Stage 3 of the process.

Interestingly, there are multiple stages to the program. Without an official announcement, Nichushkin entered Stage 2 while he was in the program back in January. Hence, this move to the third stage was more concerning than before.

The concern spread into the locker room as well, with the team only learning of his suspension just before the start of the game. It looked as though it stunned them too, as it was a very lackluster performance in Game Four in a 5-1 loss. The team didn’t have much fight in them and had trouble getting the puck toward Jake Oettinger and getting in his way.

Implications of Nichushkin’s absence were certainly felt in the game. It’s not the first time he’s been out of the lineup, and the Avs are a very different team without him in it as has been demonstrated before. He works within the dirty areas, working along the boards and getting in front of the net to stir things up. Colorado missed his play, and it was glaring.

Of course, as expected after a devastating 5-1 loss, the mood was gloomy in the locker room. With the Nichushkin news being the main topic of the night, lots of comments and sights were noticed - even if some weren’t super insightful or revealing. Here are just a few of them.

According to a report on ESPN by Leah Hextall made during the broadcast, Nichushkin failed a drug test. Due to this, he has been suspended for six months without pay and is ineligible for reinstatement until the six months is up. This lines up for a mid-November reinstatement at the earliest, with him likely needing time to get game-ready and eye a return sometime in December.

But could there be any sort of return in an Avalanche jersey?

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First and foremost, let’s preface this: hopefully Nichushkin is able to get the help he needs off the ice first. To leave his team unexpectedly for the third time in 13 months with issues is far from ideal for anyone, but especially for him at the center of it all. He will be getting the best of care and attention as he continues his road to recovery and sobriety. That should come first before even imagining any sort of return to play professional hockey.

But secondly, there’s a question which needs to be asked - even if it is a hard one. At the end of the day, the NHL and the Colorado Avalanche are a business. They are there to make money and increase profits with what they can under the salary cap. According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, a league source said the incident which transpired is not grounds to be eligible for contract termination by the Avalanche, nor a reason to make the contract void. Therefore, it makes the decision that much tougher - do you roll with a player who has question marks surrounding him off the ice but is phenomenal on his day on the ice, or bite the bullet and buy him out while facing 12 years of cap penalties upwards of $6 million per year?

It’s an extremely tough decision to make and is one the front office certainly has to be pondering considering recent history. Remember, at the end of the day, this sport is a business and the business will do what is in their best interest for the future.

No matter what ends up happening with Nichushkin down the road, his tenure in Colorado has been a successful one. He will always be a Stanley Cup champion and be an underrated piece in the run and a force on the ice. But at the same time, his tenure will be soured with the revelations and events which have occurred in the last 13 months. It will make him one of the most peculiar members in the Avalanche’s history, regardless of the outcome in the coming weeks or months.

Nonetheless, hopefully, Valeri Nichushkin can make a full recovery before it’s too late off the ice. He will have plenty of support both in and out of the organization. Then, maybe we can see him at least play hockey again, whether it’s with the Avalanche or somewhere else. We’re with you Val.