CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Valeri Nichushkin’s absence will be felt for the first handful of weeks. The Avalanche’s high-scoring winger isn’t expected back for at least 16 games as he serves the remainder of his six-month suspension. While we’ve spent all summer wondering if the Avs would even bring him back, it sounds like we’re well past the point of that being an option. Nichushkin is not going anywhere.
MUST WATCH College Football This Week w/ Crissy Froyd! | Daily Sports Rush
Playback speedNormal
Quality-
Playback speed
0.25
0.5
0.75
Normal
1.25
1.5
1.75
2
Unmute
The team hopes Nichushkin is doing well. That’s their main priority. But after that, integrating him back into the room will be the ultimate goal.
Nichushkin is expected back in Denver later in October.
“I’ve been in touch with the league. We’re still kind of working through the reintegration process,” general manager Chris MacFarland said on Tuesday in his annual season-opening press conference. ” This is my first time through this stage but I believe we’ll get to a point where the player is traveling back to Denver later this month.”
Where things go from there is still up in the air. Last season when Nichushkin re-entered the NHLPA Assistance Program, he initially received clearance to start practicing with the group before again needing to be cleared for game action. He ended up returning on March 8. The Avalanche’s front office is still awaiting information from the league on whether he’ll be able to practice before Nov. 13 or if that’s the first day he’s allowed back in team facilities. They’ll get an update soon.
Regardless of which it is, they have a plan set to get him back up to game speed.
“How the gym and the skates and what he can do, what he can’t do has still gotta be sorted out,” MacFarland said. “And then at some point in November, he’ll be joining practice. Then when he’s officially ready to roll will depend on a lot of things, his conditioning level being one of them. But we expect to see the player here later this month.
“The last thing we’ll want, assuming everything is good, is for him to come back, play too soon, and pull the groin. That would be a disaster for everybody.”
EXCLUSIVE: Rinkside with Aarif Deen podcast featuring Casey Mittelstadt will be released Wednesday.
Subscribe to the podcast for audio and @MileHighSports' YouTube page for the full video.
Mittelstadt opens up about the trade, playing with MacKinnon, Val Nichushkin, and more pic.twitter.com/8NxLFS4fZc
— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) October 8, 2024
Getting Nichushkin cleared with the league is only half the process. The reality is, gaining trust from his teammates might be the tougher hurdle to clear. Nichushkin was Colorado’s best player in the Stanley Cup Final in 2022. He ended that playoff year sitting atop a mountain as a champion after scoring several big goals and imposing a physical forechecking presence on his way to a $49 million max-term extension.
But in the two playoffs since, the Avs have been eliminated and went through the handshake line without Nichushkin in the lineup. Both times, he was suspended. Both times, the team had to answer questions about his how his actions may have led to losing a series.
‘The players, all they want to know is that Val’s healthy and that he understands the hurt that they went through, especially at playoff time,” MacFarland said. “I think how they do that is something I’m certainly not going to comment on. I think that’s personal in the room.
“But I can tell you this, there’s not one single player that’s not going to welcome back Val with open arms.”
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Colorado boasts a record of 118-35-16 with Nichushkin in the lineup. They’ve collected a whopping 74.5% of points with Nichushkin, which averages out to 122 points in every 82 games.
Without him? They’re just simply not the same. In the games he’s missed since 2021-22, the Avalanche are 39-33-5 in 77 games. They’ve collected just 83 points, which extrapolates to 88 points over a full 82-game season.
That’s what he means to this team on the ice. And if things continue to progress the way they have, he’ll likely be back before the season is a quarter of the way through.
