It was just a few weeks ago that Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Assitance Program.
As a result, Nichushkin has been suspended without pay for a minimum of six months. After that, he will be eligible to apply for reinstatement back into the league. According to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli, sources say that Nichushkin recently failed a drug test.
Today on Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli talks about the big decision ahead for the Avalanche brass regarding the Nichushkin situation.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The big question here is what happens with Nichushkin because it affects how much money they can work with right?
Frank Seravalli: Yeah, and that’s just the thing they’re not actually eligible to terminate his contract right now. I’m sure they are weighing that, “Hey this is a really important piece to us, how do we handle the situation?” My personal take is they might be done with him. That might be tough to take because addiction is a real thing and certainly hope he gets the help he needs. But in this spot now when it matters most two years in a row you have an issue that’s popped up with drugs. I think a lot of trust has been eroded, I think trust eroded with players in the room, in their front office, and now because of his cap hit and situation they need to manage it appropriately.
You can watch the full show here…
