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

[Pokecheque]

if Nuke is back, I suggest they rebrand from Colorado Avalanche to Colorado Clowns. they already have a third jersey with a big C, so could even save some money there, no need to change the uniform.

There should in all seriousness be a local team of some kind called the Rodeo Clowns. Those guys got some big steel ones to do what they do.

 

[the_fan]

Colorado Clowns

I like it

 

[Alienblood]

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.....?

He has to stay he is the most important player on the team.

Avs weren't winning these last 2 years regardless . It's a nice excuse

 

[Leafshater67]

I don’t know why everyone wants the Avs to launch him into the sun so bad. They’re going to either have a really damn good player or be able to terminate his contract penalty free.

Crazy how a bunch of “fans” could wish such awful stuff on a guy going through some serious issues. I just hope he gets his life back.

 

[Grigowski]

Hand up, guilty as charged officer. I'll always be willing to give a guy another go if he's putting in the effort and trying. The world has a distinct lack of empathy today.

Yes, it probably didn't help our cause in the two playoff runs, but there's life, and there's sports. I know which one is more important. And everyone, no matter the chances (there are some obvious times this isn't appropriate btw), should be a candidate for redemption.

Also, I think you under estimate the brotherhood in that lockeroom . I think many do. These guys are family.

He had his "another go" after the Seattle-incident.

He had "another go" during the season because of "sleeping problems" (i think its safe to say it wasnt just because of "sleeping problems").

Sorry, but how much "empathy" do you want for that guy? He allready had, what, 3 strikes in in 12 month.

Thats sounds, too me, not a guy with a chance of redemption. He had his chances, he made his decision. In the words of Jack Johnson.

I think you over estimate the so called "brotherhood" in that lockerroom. A guy that constantly shits on his teammates during the playoffs is not a "brother" or a "family member", he is an selfish idiot.

This is a team-sport, and the ultimate goal is to win a Stanley Cup. And if one player, in addition the best one during round 1 (thats why it stings even more), shits on his team constantly, you are in deep trouble.

I can only speak for myself, but i dont want a guy like that in my team or around me at work after he showed 3 times within 1 year (!!) that you cant rely on him. It doesnt matter if he is a damn good player when he wants too.

Look, i wish him the best for his private life and that he can overcome his demons. For his own sake, and for his young family. But i dont want the player on this team.

Crazy how a bunch of “fans” could wish such awful stuff on a guy going through some serious issues. I just hope he gets his life back.

Wanting the player gone is not "wishing" him awful stuff.

And as i worte above, i wish him the best for his private life and that he, finally, gets his shit together. But i want the player and his cap gone. Either trade, or settlement, i dont care as long as we get this problem solved.

 

[The Moops]

I don’t know why everyone wants the Avs to launch him into the sun so bad. They’re going to either have a really damn good player or be able to terminate his contract penalty free.

Crazy how a bunch of “fans” could wish such awful stuff on a guy going through some serious issues. I just hope he gets his life back.

Ahh yes, we are fake fans now because we're pissed this jabroni screwed us 2 playoffs in a row right in our contention window. Can't imagine why anyone would be upset about that.

And it's not as simple as terminating his contract without a penalty. Very little chance that happens. So good chance we're screwed for a decade with his cap penalty

 

[Leafshater67]

not as simple as terminating his contract without a penalty. Very little chance that happens. So good chance we're screwed for a decade with his cap penalty

How so? If he fails another piss test, he gets banned from the league and rightfully terminated. There’s no way the Avs are going to get stuck with cap punishment on that.

It’s not like Evander Kane or Mike Richards where the team terminated those contracts, this will be from the league. That will not be on the team.

 

[Vaslof]

How so? If he fails another piss test, he gets banned from the league and rightfully terminated. There’s no way the Avs are going to get stuck with cap punishment on that.

It’s not like Evander Kane or Mike Richards where the team terminated those contracts, this will be from the league. That will not be on the team.

If it happens during the playoffs we've wasted 3 runs on him.

 

[niwotsblessing]

They represent the players. Think of it like a lawyer defending someone who's guilty.

the NHLPA also represents the players on the receiving end of head shots, and must protect them from injury. Think Byram, Bowen.

A lawyer may also represent a client who was on the receiving end of injurious action. Additionally, although the NHL ignores the data, head injuries cause a lifetime of problems.

 

[henchman21]

How so? If he fails another piss test, he gets banned from the league and rightfully terminated. There’s no way the Avs are going to get stuck with cap punishment on that.

It’s not like Evander Kane or Mike Richards where the team terminated those contracts, this will be from the league. That will not be on the team.

This is incorrect

 

[The Abusement Park]

Ahh yes, we are fake fans now because we're pissed this jabroni screwed us 2 playoffs in a row right in our contention window. Can't imagine why anyone would be upset about that.

And it's not as simple as terminating his contract without a penalty. Very little chance that happens. So good chance we're screwed for a decade with his cap penalty

Never forget how leafs fans treated Kadri after he screwed them in back to back playoff series…

 

[Pokecheque]

I don’t care what anyone thinks. I’m done with the guy. If he comes back, fine, but I’m not in his corner as a fan. As a fellow human being I hope he gets the help he needs and stays clean because he’s jeopardizing his own life and ruining it along with those of his family. And if he manages those things I wish him well both on and off the ice.

We as people can feel both of those things. Addiction is a terrible disease but he is still a sentient being capable of making choices and two years in a row he made some really bad ones that cost his team.

 

[ASmileyFace]

I don’t care what anyone thinks. I’m done with the guy. If he comes back, fine, but I’m not in his corner as a fan. As a fellow human being I hope he gets the help he needs and stays clean because he’s jeopardizing his own life and ruining it along with those of his family. And if he manages those things I wish him well both on and off the ice.

We as people can feel both of those things. Addiction is a terrible disease but he is still a sentient being capable of making choices and two years in a row he made some really bad ones that cost his team.

This, 100% this.

I never want to see him in an avalanche sweater again, but wish him all the best in recovery and fighting through his addiction (even if he denies it or is currently ignoring it).

 

[MacKaRant]

I don’t know why everyone wants the Avs to launch him into the sun so bad. They’re going to either have a really damn good player or be able to terminate his contract penalty free.

Crazy how a bunch of “fans” could wish such awful stuff on a guy going through some serious issues. I just hope he gets his life back.

Three pretty obvious reasons he should be launched into the sun:

1. I don't see that locker room accepting him back, we don't want a fractured locker room

2. The salary cap hit when he returns prevents us from being able to make moves this summer--we're in a bit of a Schrödinger's cat situation where we simultaneously have and don't have his $6M taking up our limited cap space--and if he does come back and then gets suspended again, we would be in the exact same situation with salary cap uncertainty next year

3. Let's say he does come back clean, but then after getting a hat trick in a big game against Vegas in March, he decides to celebrate and gets caught...that would make three seasons in a row in our Cup window that this addict has torpedoed our chances, do you really think it's a good idea for management to rely on an addict staying clean?

 

[Balthazar]

As a fellow human being I hope he gets the help he needs and stays clean because he’s jeopardizing his own life and ruining it along with those of his family.

I could be wrong of course but he doesn't come accross as someone who wants help or acknowledges that he has issues.

 

[Pokecheque]

Can he be traded right now or is he unmovable until he is reinstated?

Probably not until he’s reinstated but I’m not sure. That’s a good question

Here’s what Google AI had to say. Totally accurate of course.

I could be wrong of course but he doesn't come accross as someone who wants help or acknowledges that he has issues.

Yeah I get a lot of Jere Karalahti vibes from him. At least that guy was brazenly unapologetic about his dalliances with drugs.

 

[ABasin]

He had "another go" during the season because of "sleeping problems" (i think its safe to say it wasnt just because of "sleeping problems").

I can totally 100% believe any cokehead has trouble sleeping.

 

[henchman21]

I can totally 100% believe any cokehead has trouble sleeping.

I still get a laugh when I think about the Russian media lapping up his agent's words. Nuke doesn't do drugs! He doesn't even drink! It is just a biorhythm issue caused by a new baby!

 

[LTCPain75]

Three pretty obvious reasons he should be launched into the sun:

1. I don't see that locker room accepting him back, we don't want a fractured locker room

2. The salary cap hit when he returns prevents us from being able to make moves this summer--we're in a bit of a Schrödinger's cat situation where we simultaneously have and don't have his $6M taking up our limited cap space--and if he does come back and then gets suspended again, we would be in the exact same situation with salary cap uncertainty next year

3. Let's say he does come back clean, but then after getting a hat trick in a big game against Vegas in March, he decides to celebrate and gets caught...that would make three seasons in a row in our Cup window that this addict has torpedoed our chances, do you really think it's a good idea for management to rely on an addict staying clean?

Schrödinger's Cat is a thought experiment devised by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, which he designed to illustrate a paradox of quantum superposition wherein a hypothetical cat may be considered both alive and dead simultaneously because its fate is linked to a random event that may (or may not) occur.

 

[RockLobster]

Hand up, guilty as charged officer. I'll always be willing to give a guy another go if he's putting in the effort and trying. The world has a distinct lack of empathy today.

Yes, it probably didn't help our cause in the two playoff runs, but there's life, and there's sports. I know which one is more important. And everyone, no matter the chances (there are some obvious times this isn't appropriate btw), should be a candidate for redemption.

Also, I think you under estimate the brotherhood in that lockeroom . I think many do. These guys are family.

No man, they are pissed. Windows are only open for a finite period of time, and usually even less-so now with the way the recent CBAs have eliminated back-diving contracts, etc.

He helped shutter two straight postseasons for Colorado. He's not the primary reason they lost to Seattle and Dallas, but his absence greatly hurt the team in both instances. He WAS a factor, just perhaps not the only or even primary factor.

The guys in that locker room are pissed off. Think about a guy like Parise, who signed here knowing it was his last kick at the can. Or Jack Johnson who may not get any contract at all, same for Cogliano.

Think about the fact that this was the 2nd straight postseason that a prime year of MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen was wasted. They won't get that time back. Next year they're another year older, their bodies another year older (and possibly not able to "bounce back" the same as when they were younger).

Think about all of that, and then consider Jack Johnson's quote, "He made his decision".

They are not family, they are co-workers. Sure, some of them are REALLY good friends with one another, and some have become like family (look at the bond between Landeskog and EJ); but they are co-workers, and the rest of them are pissed ther cokehead co-worker helped contribute to an early playoff exit for the 2nd straight year.

 

[dahrougem2]

I don’t know why everyone wants the Avs to launch him into the sun so bad. They’re going to either have a really damn good player or be able to terminate his contract penalty free.

Crazy how a bunch of “fans” could wish such awful stuff on a guy going through some serious issues. I just hope he gets his life back.

Serious issues?

The guy is seemingly addicted to a party drug/partying, hence his little Seattle stunt last year.

Then you look at his Instagram photos and it's clear the guy likes to have a good time and prioritizes that over hockey.

 

[henchman21]

Serious issues?

The guy is seemingly addicted to a party drug/partying, hence his little Seattle stunt last year.

Then you look at his Instagram photos and it's clear the guy likes to have a good time and prioritizes that over hockey.

 

[JoeSakic13]

I don’t know why everyone wants the Avs to launch him into the sun so bad. They’re going to either have a really damn good player or be able to terminate his contract penalty free.

Crazy how a bunch of “fans” could wish such awful stuff on a guy going through some serious issues. I just hope he gets his life back.

Because launching him into the moon would mean surrounding him with more white powder.

 

[henchman21]

Because launching him into the moon would mean surrounding him with more white powder.

I was told it was cheese

 

[JoeSakic13]

I was told it was cheese