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

[RECKLESS]

Nichushkin finds way to pursue his hockey career during his 6-month suspension

Valeri Nichushkin, who was suspended six months by the NHL for failing a drug test, found a way to pursue his hockey career during his time away from North America.

www.hockeypatrol.com

So. Val enjoys summer playing hockey in Russia. Please find a way to terminate this guys contract. Never to be trusted again.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

At this point it does begin to look pretty comical.

The NHLPA spends more time and effort protecting players from supplemental discipline than they spend on actually protecting the players that get absolutely absued in the first place.

Now it also appears as if the NHL Players Assistance Program cares more about ensuring the player finishes his contract than actually achieving a life of sobriety.

I mean, with friends like these....

 

[henchman21]

At this point it does begin to look pretty comical.

The NHLPA spends more time and effort protecting players from supplemental discipline than they spend on actually protecting the players that get absolutely absued in the first place.

Now it also appears as if the NHL Players Assistance Program cares more about ensuring the player finishes his contract than actually achieving a life of sobriety.

I mean, with friends like these....

Scott Darling agrees

 

[Murzu]

f*** Nuke. Start the elimination game right now, the Nuke Crew has been disbanded.

Oh I'd love to. I'll start it in a lil over a month, we will hate Nuke then too.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Scott Darling agrees

I read he was doing standup now, I need to find a video.

 

[Vk1ing]

Nichushkin finds way to pursue his hockey career during his 6-month suspension

Valeri Nichushkin, who was suspended six months by the NHL for failing a drug test, found a way to pursue his hockey career during his time away from North America.

www.hockeypatrol.com

So. Val enjoys summer playing hockey in Russia. Please find a way to terminate this guys contract. Never to be trusted again.

Maybe it helps keep him away from Coke and hookers? His trade value can't tank anymore and it looks like we can't terminate the contract, so hopefully this is a step in the right direction. At the very least it might make him less unappealing for a trade

 

[missionAvs]

Maybe it helps keep him away from Coke and hookers? His trade value can't tank anymore and it looks like we can't terminate the contract, so hopefully this is a step in the right direction. At the very least it might make him less unappealing for a trade

This bitch is going to find his way back onto the roster again and it's going to really piss me the f*** off. I'm still very upset at this whole BS situation.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Him actually playing on the team is hardly the worst case scenario. Playing for some western conference contender at 1M or some BS would be worse. And yeah I know, maybe he never gets clean enough to do either.

 

[Grigowski]

Him actually playing on the team is hardly the worst case scenario. Playing for some western conference contender at 1M or some BS would be worse. And yeah I know, maybe he never gets clean enough to do either.

There is your answer.

Look, all i want at this point is to get this idiot and his cap off the team. I take the 7th rounder as long as the cap and player is gone.

After that, he can be the headache for another team.

And no, whatever MacFarland is talking, that guy is done. There is no more "trust rebuild" with his teammates.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

At least use psychedelics and not destructive bs like coke. Problem solved, unless you have a fragile mind that can´t cope with any substance.

 

[Sea Eagles]

At least use psychedelics and not destructive bs like coke. Problem solved, unless you have a fragile mind that can´t cope with any substance.

How about dopamine hits, for being associated with the best club in sports today? I know I'm addicted to that with this team.

For the record - kudos to Cmac. I love that you back and support our boys, through thick of thin. That's called community.

 

[Bender]

Him actually playing on the team is hardly the worst case scenario. Playing for some western conference contender at 1M or some BS would be worse. And yeah I know, maybe he never gets clean enough to do either.

Oh I'm sure he'll end up on the golden showers for close to league minimum and somehow 'magically' never, ever get tested again.

 

[ABasin]

back and support our boys, through thick of thin. That's called community.

Or enablement.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Nichushkin finds way to pursue his hockey career during his 6-month suspension

Valeri Nichushkin, who was suspended six months by the NHL for failing a drug test, found a way to pursue his hockey career during his time away from North America.

www.hockeypatrol.com

So. Val enjoys summer playing hockey in Russia. Please find a way to terminate this guys contract. Never to be trusted again.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1798717769820828016

 

[Grigowski]

For the record - kudos to Cmac. I love that you back and support our boys, through thick of thin. That's called community.

What was he supposed to say in his presser?

Like "yeah, we are going to do everything to get this player off our team"...??

Of course he is polite because he cant do shit for 6 month thanks to this bullshit.

I am, personally, pretty sure all of his other players are done with that particular player. Especially the supposed leaders. And the management too. They just play it save to not give the NHLPA or the player any ammunition for upcoming things.

If CMac really thinks he can get this player back into the locker after he f***ed up his teammates at the worst possible times, 2 times in a row, he is an idiot. Sorry for the harsh words, but it is what it is.

He should be lucky to be on this team after the Seattle-incident and thank everyone for another chance. Instead he f***s his teammates again.

And there are still some people in here who want to give this player another chance.....?

 

[Vaslof]

A unions purpose is to protect their members… Nuke is a member. Mitchell Miller got a settlement negotiated by the NHLPA. They are there to protect all members. The greater good is not a part of it.

At least to me a union is exactly that, working for the greater good and not for the good of a specific member at the cost of the others. Anyway I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

At least to me a union is exactly that, working for the greater good and not for the good of a specific member at the cost of the others. Anyway I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

The greater good from the NHLPAs point of view is likely: teams cannot terminate contracts for anything other than an egregious breach of contract.

Whilst what Nuke has done has turned out to be really shitty for the team, it's an addiction problem and likely the NHLPA do not want to set the precedent that teams can terminate for addiction problems. Like it or not, Nuke is in a program that has particular steps, if he follows those steps he's met his end of that bargain and allowing the Avs to sever that contract if he does what is expected of him would render the PAP a waste of time completely.

Not saying I agree with that necessarily, but there's a program and he's (allegedly) in it. If he completes the program then he's fulfilled his requirements and the NHLPA won't want him punished for doing so.

 

[AvBuff]

I've heard through sources I trust that behind the scenes the Avs are doing everything they can and are exploring every option (including some very creative ones) to rid themselves of Nuke and his contract.

It ain't easy, and there are more than a few moving parts. Addiction is a tricky condition to navigate under the law and the CBA. Serious enough to require accommodation and time off under the CBA, but tough to LTIR - you have no idea when he'll be declared ready to play. It's not like a ACL or (cough, cough) a ruptured spleen - there's a recovery timeline for that. Plus state and federal laws kick in (including HIPAA) that prohibit employers from commenting publicly.

I get so tired of columnists and others complaining that the Avs "enabled" Nuke and/or swept stuff under the rug. Under CBA rules, the Avs were required to get Nuke into the recovery program. Under state and federal employment law (including the ADA), substance abuse can be considered a "disability" , so that plays into it. Under either scenario, HIPAA prohibits public comment about it. Believe me, if CMac went into any substantive detail about Seattle, Nukes lawyers would have sued the corpuscles out of Kroenke.

 

[Vk1ing]

This bitch is going to find his way back onto the roster again and it's going to really piss me the f*** off. I'm still very upset at this whole BS situation.

At this point I don't want him to play for us again but I also don't want to lose an asset just to see him play for another team. If he f***ed off the khl that would be ideal.

 

[henchman21]

I've heard through sources I trust that behind the scenes the Avs are doing everything they can and are exploring every option (including some very creative ones) to rid themselves of Nuke and his contract.

It ain't easy, and there are more than a few moving parts. Addiction is a tricky condition to navigate under the law and the CBA. Serious enough to require accommodation and time off under the CBA, but tough to LTIR - you have no idea when he'll be declared ready to play. It's not like a ACL or (cough, cough) a ruptured spleen - there's a recovery timeline for that. Plus state and federal laws kick in (including HIPAA) that prohibit employers from commenting publicly.

I get so tired of columnists and others complaining that the Avs "enabled" Nuke and/or swept stuff under the rug. Under CBA rules, the Avs were required to get Nuke into the recovery program. Under state and federal employment law (including the ADA), substance abuse can be considered a "disability" , so that plays into it. Under either scenario, HIPAA prohibits public comment about it. Believe me, if CMac went into any substantive detail about Seattle, Nukes lawyers would have sued the corpuscles out of Kroenke.

There are legal issues, but HIPAA isn't one of them. The negotiated CBA and informed consent that goes along with it allows teams to comment on anything that is keeping Nuke from performing his duties as a player. Teams don't have to share, but they are within their rights to share. They can't comment on if Nuke has herpes or not, but they can state he failed a drug test and is in treatment.

The Avs are also not required to get Nuke into recovery. It is a good idea for everyone, but the Avs are not bound by the NHL, NHLPA, or CBA to force Nuke into a recovery program. Now that Nuke is in the program though, he is bound to the steps, his drug test failure requires him to move into the next stage.

 

[AvBuff]

There are legal issues, but HIPAA isn't one of them. The negotiated CBA and informed consent that goes along with it allows teams to comment on anything that is keeping Nuke from performing his duties as a player. Teams don't have to share, but they are within their rights to share. They can't comment on if Nuke has herpes or not, but they can state he failed a drug test and is in treatment.

Most CBAs have privacy provisions that mirror HIPAA laws. When it comes to addiction (as opposed to broken bones or torn tendons), the smart play to stay out of the courthouse is to say nothing.

And the Avs are nothing if not smart.

 

[henchman21]

Most CBAs have privacy provisions that mirror HIPAA laws. When it comes to addiction (as opposed to broken bones or torn tendons), the smart play to stay out of the courthouse is to say nothing.

And the Avs are nothing if not smart.

The CBA is what applies... not HIPAA though. HIPAA is a complete non-factor in this discussion. Teams are allowed to comment on anything that the CBA allows.

 

[AvBuff]

The CBA is what applies... not HIPAA though. HIPAA is a complete non-factor in this discussion. Teams are allowed to comment on anything that the CBA allows.

Not going to debate you. If the Avs were my client I would tell them to do exactly what they are doing.

 

[Avs91]

Most CBAs have privacy provisions that mirror HIPAA laws. When it comes to addiction (as opposed to broken bones or torn tendons), the smart play to stay out of the courthouse is to say nothing.

And the Avs are nothing if not smart.

The text could literally be identical, other than switching out 'healthcare providers' or whatever for whatever entity you choose, it's still not technically HIPAA lol, as @henchman21 said

 

[The Abusement Park]

Not going to debate you. If the Avs were my client I would tell them to do exactly what they are doing.

I don’t think he’s saying that Avs should or will. Just that they could if they wanted to.