And so the saga continues with Valeri Nichushkin and the Colorado Avalanche.
Last month, it was reported that the Chicago Blackhawks had been toying with the idea of making a trade for Nichushkin, who is currently in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and is suspended until at least mid-November. They ultimately decided against it. I imagine a lot of teams have similar feelings, as there are a lot of risks involved in trading for him right now.
There’s nothing stopping the Avalanche from trading the 29-year-old winger other than his no-movement clause. They would simply have to approve any move that is made. Apparently, Colorado simply has no interest in trading him.
For now at least.
In his podcast, NHL insider Chris Johnston discussed the situation between the Avalanche and the Russian forward.
“And then there’s Valeri Nichushkin, who is in the third stage of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program,” Johnston said. “He can’t play before November under the terms of that agreement. The Avalanche are telling teams right now, ‘We’re not going to trade him during this window.’ They’re hoping to help rehabilitate the player and the person.”
If you follow Val on social media, you’ll see that he appears to be in Italy right now. I imagine the Avalanche would have to pair Nichushkin with an asset in any trade, as he has six years left on his contract and that could factor into their decision. Earlier this week, Chris MacFarland spoke a bit about the situation and what kind of updates they’re getting.
“I believe Val is in Russia, to the best of our knowledge, doing his rehab work as part of the NHL program,” he said. “I’ll get regular updates from Mark Gandler (his agent) or the league as directed, or if they feel there’s something we need to be informed about, but we’re assuming he’s OK at this point and that’s really all we know.”
When the NHL postseason ended, the Avalanche forward finished sixth in playoff goal scoring. The five players who finished with more goals than him all played at least 11 more games, so yeah, that’s pretty good. However, this is two consecutive postseasons where the rest of the team has fallen behind, and as you can imagine, a lot of people aren’t happy about that. As good as he is, bringing him back would come with a lot of risk. One of the main reasons the Avalanche had a relatively quiet summer is his suspension and the need to be ready to add to his salary if/when he returns.
The earliest he appears to be able to return is November 13, meaning he will miss the first 16 games of next season at least. If he does return to the locker room, it will be fascinating to watch the dynamics.
We’ll see if anything changes over the summer, but for now, Nichushkin remains a member of the Avalanche.
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