Confirmed with Link: Nichushkin back in assistance program; suspended a minimum of six months

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Another thing to keep in mind here... Nichushkin has to go 6 months clean here now pretty much. He's suspended without pay, if he wants any hope of being reinstated into the league he has to clean himself up for 6 months.


I'm not convinced he's capable of doing that or even interested in doing that. Would not surprise me in the least if we dont hear by the middle of the Summer that he violated the terms again and was put into stage 4, kicked out of the league, whatever.


Dudes an addict with no signs of wanting help. He'll ruin his own career here soon enough, I'd put money on it.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Another thing to keep in mind here... Nichushkin has to go 6 months clean here now pretty much. He's suspended without pay, if he wants any hope of being reinstated into the league he has to clean himself up for 6 months.


I'm not convinced he's capable of doing that or even interested in doing that. Would not surprise me in the least if we dont hear by the middle of the Summer that he violated the terms again and was put into stage 4, kicked out of the league, whatever.


Dudes an addict with no signs of wanting help. He'll ruin his own career here soon enough, I'd put money on it.

You have entirely too much money wrapped up in players who want to win. You put Nuke back into that room and they should absolutely riot.

 

[GeoRox89]

Another thing to keep in mind here... Nichushkin has to go 6 months clean here now pretty much. He's suspended without pay, if he wants any hope of being reinstated into the league he has to clean himself up for 6 months.


I'm not convinced he's capable of doing that or even interested in doing that. Would not surprise me in the least if we dont hear by the middle of the Summer that he violated the terms again and was put into stage 4, kicked out of the league, whatever.


Dudes an addict with no signs of wanting help. He'll ruin his own career here soon enough, I'd put money on it.

It’s pretty clear in the explanation of the stages that breaking the treatment plan puts him into stage 4. He’s not going to be in rehab the whole 6 months. He’ll have broken that before he’s allowed back and then it’s done. He had over 42 million reasons to stay clean after last summer and couldn’t even after being in the program only a few months ago

 

[Balthazar]

Perhaps the Avs could make a case for termination based on what happened in the hotel room last year but that's only valid if they told the truth to the league and didn't hide anything.

Addiction alone may not be ground for termination but being caught with a prostitute that sounded like a victim of human trafficking might be.

That's far worse than what Corey Perry did.

 

[PAZ]

If the locker room is done with him, move on.

But when Nuke is actually playing he's a force and makes the team better. I'm on the side of the fence where you keep him, simply because whoever replaces him won't be as good and he has negative value. If he destroys his career, then so be it and we clear his cap anyways.

The caveat is if there are grounds to terminate his contract - but I'd leave this decision up to the players.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Bednar says a lot here without saying a lot IMO. I'm pretty confident we've seen Val's last game in an Avs uniform.

 

[The Moops]

You have entirely too much money wrapped up in players who want to win. You put Nuke back into that room and they should absolutely riot.

Guys couldn't get up for their last game in the sack this season. If/when he comes back he might get the same passive aggressive treatment the Stars got from the boys tonight

 

[HartKinnon]

One thing that i liked to know is that were there any problems before the injury of our Cup run or did that just escalate the problems?

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Perhaps the Avs could make a case for termination based on what happened in the hotel room last year but that's only valid if they told the truth to the league and didn't hide anything.

Addiction alone may not be ground for termination but being caught with a prostitute that sounded like a victim of human trafficking might be.

Pretty sure the league knew what went on, and pretty clear that was "stage 1" for Val.

 

[pont]

One thing that i liked to know is that were there any problems before the injury of our Cup run or did that just escalate the problems?

The case was eventually dropped, but Val does seem to have a ("accused") history of putting things in his body that he should not:

Russia says doping case against Nichushkin dropped

MOSCOW (AP) — A years-old doping case against Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin has been dropped by the International Ice Hockey Federation, the Russian Hockey Federation said on Tuesday.

apnews.com

 

[The Abusement Park]

If the locker room is done with him, move on.

But when Nuke is actually playing he's a force and makes the team better. I'm on the side of the fence where you keep him, simply because whoever replaces him won't be as good and he has negative value. If he destroys his career, then so be it and we clear his cap anyways.

The caveat is if there are grounds to terminate his contract - but I'd leave this decision up to the players.

I mean JJ and Cogs comments say everything. He can't be in that room next year.

 

[katfude]

 

[Balthazar]

Pretty sure the league knew what went on, and pretty clear that was "stage 1" for Val.

He was clearly forced by the team into "stage 1" after that hotel room thing went public.

He was in Russia smiling on pictures a couple of weeks later.

It's pretty safe to say at this point that he never intended to stop using whatever drug he's consuming. He was forced into stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3.

I mean JJ and Cogs comments say everything. He can't be in that room next year.

Both of these guys are likely retiring though...I wish it was coming from others.

 

[PAZ]

I mean JJ and Cogs comments say everything. He can't be in that room next year.

I imagine they speak for the room - but the only opinions that really matter are the core players. If Mack and Makar want to gamble on him sobering up and keep him, that's good enough for me.

 

[Mighty Makar]

I mean JJ and Cogs comments say everything. He can't be in that room next year.

What did Cogs say?

 

[expatriatedtexan]

View attachment 870458

Danny would be proud!

 

[StLAvsFan]

You have entirely too much money wrapped up in players who want to win. You put Nuke back into that room and they should absolutely riot.

Players who want to win? Like who? Pout Boy MacKinnon? Mikko Can't-onen? Caley Makar? I haven't seen much do-or-die from them this series. Have you?

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Both of these guys are likely retiring though...I wish it was coming from others.

Don't know who was made avaliable to the media and who wasn't. Makar never gives much of a soundbite other than tired cliches. I haven't seen any interviews with Mack or Mikko.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I imagine they speak for the room - but the only opinions that really matter are the core players. If Mack and Makar want to gamble on him sobering up and keep him, that's good enough for me.

I mean we've already seen Toews be vocal about guys and their play during the season and this is far more serious than that. Cogs is very much aligned with the leadership and core of this team, there's no way his opinion will be that different than Mack or Makars imo.

 

[PAZ]

He was clearly forced by the team into "stage 1" after that hotel room thing went public.

He was in Russia smiling on pictures a couple of weeks later.

It's pretty safe to say at this point that he never intended to stop using whatever drug he's consuming. He was forced into stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3.

The question is Val willing to throw away $33 mil.

There's no question he is going to continue his drug use, but so does half the NHL. As long as he's smart about it moving forward, I could give a rats ass.

 

[Avs9296]

Zach Parise must be pretty pissed off and disappointed right now.

Should have went to Florida (assuming they even wanted him).

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

What did Cogs say?

Fairly similar to what Johnson said:

 

[AllAboutAvs]

IMO that is why JJ spoke up. He knows he is not coming back so why not speak his mind.

 

[Balthazar]

The question is Val willing to throw away $33 mil.

He's 100% going to show up in November if the Avs fail to terminate his contract.

 

[TheForsbergShow]

If the locker room is done with him, move on.

But when Nuke is actually playing he's a force and makes the team better. I'm on the side of the fence where you keep him, simply because whoever replaces him won't be as good and he has negative value. If he destroys his career, then so be it and we clear his cap anyways.

The caveat is if there are grounds to terminate his contract - but I'd leave this decision up to the players.

Almost no way this doesn't have a negative impact on the locker room The first time I'm sure it ruffled some feathers, but to do it again is just not forgotten by these guys. You have some long time vets on their last stints and the guy put himself first yet again.

He simply Cannot be trusted, keeping him around is just a ticking time bomb no matter how good he is. Like sure it would be great to clear his cap if he messes up start of season again, but at that point we will have lost a couple of valuable players like Drouin/lehk/Manson/G, have another distraction and a bunch of unused cap. Can't keep throwing away years. He has had many chances to get clean, was given a 2nd chance at a career here and given a huge long- term commitment to be a core member. This is how he decides to act.