Valeri Nichushkin has arrived back in Denver and is set to begin skating and working out on his own, the Avalanche announced on Saturday.
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Colorado’s top forward is serving his six-month suspension in Stage 3 of the NHL Player Assistance Program. He is eligible to be reinstated on Nov. 13.
General Manager Chris MacFarland said before opening night that Nichushkin “is doing great” and he expects to have him back sometime in November. It’s unclear at this time if Nichushkin will be able to rejoin his teammates for practice before Nov. 13. But the team has already said they will “welcome him back with open arms” when he’s reinstated.
Head coach Jared Bednar said after an optional practice Saturday that he has not met with Nichushkin yet but plans to when the team returns from the upcoming road trip. As for Nichushkin’s plan and timeline, it all depends on when he gets cleared by the league.
“Yeah he’s on his own. Plan for Val — probably Monday morning, start skating on his own. and then we’ll wait til we get permission that he’s able to sort of join team workouts and then wait again to see when he gets cleared. So there’s still a couple steps to go but he’s back, he’s able to use our facilities, just not when we’re around kind of thing. So there’ll be days when we’ll be at the game rink, he’ll be at the practice rink. There’ll be days when we’re here (Family Sports) and he’s probably in earlier and gone until we get the clearance that he can join the team,” Bednar said.
The Avalanche have struggled to start the season with Nichushkin, among other top forwards, missing from the lineup. Their 4-3 OT victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday was their first win of the season. They are 1-4-0 despite playing four of the first five games at Ball Arena.
Despite dealing with numerous off-ice issues, Nichushkin remains one of Colorado’s best forwards. His two-way play and dynamic scoring abilities make him a valuable piece of the roster. And it shows when he’s missing from the lineup.
The team hopes to have Nichushkin back sooner than later and Bednar is planning on him being ready to go when he’s cleared.
“He’s feeling good, skated a lot in the summer like when everyone was training to get ready for training camps and there’s been a gap so he’s been on the ice alone with his coach and working. So he’s feeling pretty good on the ice, he’s obviously a workout fanatic anyway so he’s been in the gym the whole time,” Bednar said. “We’re expecting that we’ve got lots of time here before he gets cleared that hopefully at some point he can join our group and when he gets cleared he’s probably a player that’s ready to go.”
Since 2021-22, the Avalanche are 40-37-5 without Nichushkin in the lineup — compiling just 85 points in those 82 games. With Nichushkin available, they boast a record of 118-35-16.
