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

[the_fan]

He also said "its a privilege to play in this league" and "signing a contract means theres standards you have to adhere to" in reference to a contract termination.

That’s more of a direct message to Val to get his shit together

 

[henchman21]

yet he says it's "very plausible" Val returns ?

Yet he also outlined that Nuke violated his contract. He can’t publicly say Nuke won’t be back yet without his back to the wall. The mere fact that he’s mentioning termination and investigating all options tells you where this is heading.

 

[The Abusement Park]

That’s more of a direct message to Val to get his shit together

It's both. The 2nd part is very much what the Avs will use for a contract termination.

If the FO was so dead set on him coming back they would've shot down termination as a whole. Instead they're "considering every option".

 

[Zine]

Val goes back to Russia a hero and gets signed by a KHL team to sell tickets and dominate the league. He will be a political prop for a long time if he does that…only needing to get cleaned up for potential international competitions.

He is not at risk of being sent to the front lines. Or falling out of a window.

No hockey player, Nuke or anyone else, is gonna go to Ukraine. If it gets to that point we'll be in WW3.
Russia is no different than other countries. It's the poor and working class who are sent to die in combat. Certainly not pro hockey players.

 

[Foppa2118]

The fact is nobody really knows how this is gonna play out with Val.

Maybe they won't bring him back either way. It's clear CMac, Gabe, and probably most of the team aren't happy he let them down again.

But maybe he finally makes the kind of changes in the next six months where he's visibly a different person, and everyone can see that, and his actions support it to the point where it might be better for the team to give him another shot, then the alternatives given the cap/contract/buyout complications.

CMac:

"We've got to look at all options to that. This time, priority one is for Val to get the help he needs, and you know, assuming he does, and after the six months, we'll have to read, and react on that, but it is very plausible that he will be back with the Avalanche."

Landy:

"Like Chris said, it's kinda up to Val now how he handles this. And obviously...once he comes back, and hoping everything goes well, and you know, he's ready to be a part of this team, we obviously will be ready to have him back, and be ready to battle out there on the ice, but yeah, we hope Val gets right, and we hope he gets what he needs, and he's able to come back and help us."

 

[Foppa2118]

He also said "its a privilege to play in this league" and "signing a contract means theres standards you have to adhere to" in reference to a contract termination.

The rest of that sentence was, "and hopefully Val takes the next six months to get himself right."

 

[AvsMakar08]

The fact is nobody really knows how this is gonna play out with Val.

Maybe they won't bring him back either way. It's clear CMac, Gabe, and probably most of the team aren't happy he let them down again.

But maybe he finally makes the kind of changes in the next six months where he's visibly a different person, and everyone can see that, and his actions support it to the point where it might be better for the team to give him another shot, then the alternatives given the cap/contract/buyout complications.

CMac:

"We've got to look at all options to that. This time, priority one is for Val to get the help he needs, and you know, assuming he does, and after the six months, we'll have to read, and react on that, but it is very plausible that he will be back with the Avalanche."

Landy:

"Like Chris said, it's kinda up to Val now how he handles this. And obviously...once he comes back, and hoping everything goes well, and you know, he's ready to be a part of this team, we obviously will be ready to have him back, and be ready to battle out there on the ice, but yeah, we hope Val gets right, and we hope he gets what he needs, and he's able to come back and help us."

Even Landy knows that Val is too important player to loose.

 

[The Abusement Park]

The rest of that sentence was, "and hopefully Val takes the next six months to get himself right."

I mean I think everyone wants Val to get right. From a human aspect we all do. But you also have to do what's best for your business/org/family in a situation like this. And cutting bait is the right thing right now.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

There's one absolute in the Val discussion: This team is a better team with him playing. The unknown at this point is that we don't know, and historically we doubt, that Val can and wants to get better.

But, if he can, you absolutely want to keep him around.

Record in 23-24 without Val: 15-10-3 - 0.589 PTS%
Record in 23-24 with Val: 35-15-4 - .685 PTS%

Record since '19 season without Val: 43-34-6 - .554 PTS%
Record since '19 season with Val: 195-67-27 - .721 PTS%

There's not even a question here. If he's good to go, you want him in the lineup. The other players may be pissed off with him and his antics, but they are also not idiots and they know a healthy Val gives them a better chance at winning. He may have to grovel and beg and prove himself to regain their trust.

The problem is in the back of everyone's mind will be - Is he going to relapse again?

This is a hard, hard problem.

 

[AvsMakar08]

I mean I think everyone wants Val to get right. From a human aspect we all do. But you also have to do what's best for your business/org/family in a situation like this. And cutting bait is the right thing right now.

Yeah but what if the family member pays your bills and feeds you? What happens then. Nuke's spouse and daughter have not left Nuke and probably wont. Nuke as a player helps this team big time and if Nuke leaves us then we might never find another Nuke again. 6 month should be long enough time to rehab properly and not rush back with playing hockey.

Escaped Goat is coming to get me. I can feel it.

Maybe Nuke just needs to spend some time at a Malibu for a detox. I saw the commercial a couple of times on a TV a few years ago or so.

 

[Avsfan1921]

Even Landy knows that Val is too important player to loose.

Yeah, it would suck to lose him two playoffs in a row when we are counting on him. Good thing that hasn’t happened!

 

[henchman21]

The team is certainly better with Nuke, but clearly you can’t count on Nuke being in for the playoffs. So you gotta find a way to be better in general and without him.

 

[dahrougem2]

There's one absolute in the Val discussion: This team is a better team with him playing. The unknown at this point is that we don't know, and historically we doubt, that Val can and wants to get better.

But, if he can, you absolutely want to keep him around.

Record in 23-24 without Val: 15-10-3 - 0.589 PTS%
Record in 23-24 with Val: 35-15-4 - .685 PTS%

Record since '19 season without Val: 43-34-6 - .554 PTS%
Record since '19 season with Val: 195-67-27 - .721 PTS%

There's not even a question here. If he's good to go, you want him in the lineup. The other players may be pissed off with him and his antics, but they are also not idiots and they know a healthy Val gives them a better chance at winning. He may have to grovel and beg and prove himself to regain their trust.

The problem is in the back of everyone's mind will be - Is he going to relapse again?

This is a hard, hard problem.

I don't know if any amount of begging will get the core players to forgive him and welcome him back.

In their eyes, he is a huge reason they lost two opportunities to compete for a Stanley Cup.

 

[AvsMakar08]

Yeah, it would suck to lose him two playoffs in a row when we are counting on him. Good thing that hasn’t happened!

Nuke is already 2 or 3M a year underpaid. Hopefully Nuke will get proper therapy by a state licensed counselor or a therapist that will be longer then just 2 or 3 month to properly recover and beat his addiction. Not all doctors or therapists are perfect, I heard stories when a surgeon accidentally left his tool in his patient's body after sewing the patient up. My friend went to change his oil and his local dealership left the oil cap open when he realized later that part of his engine had oil all over it. Stuff happens, It is not always the drug addicts fault.

 

[Avsfan1921]

Nuke is already 2 or 3M a year underpaid. Hopefully Nuke will get proper therapy by a state licensed counselor or a therapist that will be longer then just 2 or 3 month to properly recover and beat his addiction. Not all doctors or therapists are perfect, I heard stories when a surgeon accidentally left his tool in his patient's body after sewing the patient up. My friend went to change his oil and his local dealership left the oil cap open when he realized later that part of his engine had oil all over it. Stuff happens, It is not always the drug addicts fault.

I too hope he recovers and beats his addiction.

I also hope that if he “accidentally” happens to screw up for the umpteenth time, it’s not here.

 

[Foppa2118]

I mean I think everyone wants Val to get right. From a human aspect we all do. But you also have to do what's best for your business/org/family in a situation like this. And cutting bait is the right thing right now.

I don't necessarily disagree, and I would imagine the organization might share that opinion. I think they would most likely cut bait and move on if they could this summer.

However, as CMac said, it's not an option to terminate his contract now. Doesn't seem like they have another option but to keep his contract on the books until at the very least, the six months is up on November 13th, and his eligible for return upon approval.

So they're going to have to plan what their roster is gonna be months before that. Probably in July. Unless I'm overlooking something, it seems like they may have to approach this offseason cap wise, as if Val's cap hit is gonna be on the team, becasue they'll need to be compliant in October.

Which leaves them with very few options come November, if the league lets him comes back by then.

A buyout most likely won't happen, especially with this organization. Trade might be hard to pull off, not only because of his history, but because not many teams will have cap space in November, and the Avs can't take back much if they're gonna make other moves.

So at best it would seem like they'd have to come to an agreement with Val to terminate the contract in November, which he may or may not want to do. We've heard he had some issues in the KHL too.

Lots can change in six months. Given their comments I don't get the impression they've 100% decided to move on. Maybe leaning towards it, but they may be open to giving him another shot if there is some sort of drastic, noticeable, and provable change in his attitude, and lifestyle, where they can just see he's been clean for months.

Then they'll have to make a new risk/reward calculation, and they may find themselves in a position where next year at least, the other options might be worse than the risk of him relapsing in the playoffs again. Then perhaps hope he gets one good year under his belt, and maybe trade him next off season.

 

[Pokecheque]

Nuke is already 2 or 3M a year underpaid. Hopefully Nuke will get proper therapy by a state licensed counselor or a therapist that will be longer then just 2 or 3 month to properly recover and beat his addiction. Not all doctors or therapists are perfect, I heard stories when a surgeon accidentally left his tool in his patient's body after sewing the patient up. My friend went to change his oil and his local dealership left the oil cap open when he realized later that part of his engine had oil all over it. Stuff happens, It is not always the drug addicts fault.

It is in this case.

 

[Foppa2118]

Nuke is already 2 or 3M a year underpaid. Hopefully Nuke will get proper therapy by a state licensed counselor or a therapist that will be longer then just 2 or 3 month to properly recover and beat his addiction. Not all doctors or therapists are perfect, I heard stories when a surgeon accidentally left his tool in his patient's body after sewing the patient up. My friend went to change his oil and his local dealership left the oil cap open when he realized later that part of his engine had oil all over it. Stuff happens, It is not always the drug addicts fault.

I'm not sure if it applies here, but the sad reality is there are a lot more people that suck at their jobs, than people realize. The more experiences you have, the more you realize this.

Feels like more than ever these days. I'm not sure why. I have a theory that the pandemic displaced so many people's jobs, there are a ton of people new to professions, they don't belong in.

It's like growing up and realizing your parents weren't infallible. We just assume people in charge know what they're doing, but many of them are just faking their way through it.

And this applies to any job, even ones people depend on for help.

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

I think it all depends on what kind of person he is... We don't really know that, but the Avs do.

He can be a fundamentally good guy with an unfortunate addiction problem. These addictions are very difficult to get off of. Someone could fail twice (or more) without being a total failure. He can have the kind of personality that will allow him to win back the support of the Team and his teammates.

Or he can be a prick, a selfish person, etc... and totally unable to win back that trust.

I'm sure the team knows him well enough by now that they already have a good idea of where it will likely land, in terms of whether or not they are willing to give him another chance. If they're not, then it will go termination and negotiation. If they are, they still need to see how he handles himself to decide if he really deserves that chance or not. But in all likelihood, they have already made that decision based on their knowledge of his personality and will act accordingly during the offseason.

 

[the_fan]

I think it all depends on what kind of person he is... We don't really know that, but the Avs do.

He can be a fundamentally good guy with an unfortunate addiction problem. These addictions are very difficult to get off of. Someone could fail twice (or more) without being a total failure. He can have the kind of personality that will allow him to win back the support of the Team and his teammates.

Or he can be a prick, a selfish person, etc... and totally unable to win back that trust.

I'm sure the team knows him well enough by now that they already have a good idea of where it will likely land, in terms of whether or not they are willing to give him another chance. If they're not, then it will go termination and negotiation. If they are, they still need to see how he handles himself to decide if he really deserves that chance or not. But in all likelihood, they have already made that decision based on their knowledge of his personality and will act accordingly during the offseason.

1. He took a hooker’s passport, made her cry while on drugs, left the team during playoffs and had to be escorted.

2. Joined a player assistance program during regular season

3. Failed a drug test and left the team hanging again during a tough round in the playoffs. Suspended for 6 months.

By all accounts, he seems like a nice guy

 

[The Pwnerer]

The only solution is to LTIR/rehab him until the playoffs every year. Let him get his coke fix for 10 months. We just need him for two. Is that too much to ask Val?

 

[RampoSanta]

It is in this case.

Its partially my fault too... Who knew that a GoFundMe for hookers and coke was a bad idea?

 

[Pokecheque]

Its partially my fault too... Who knew that a GoFundMe for hookers and coke was a bad idea?

Shit, I’d have donated.

 

[Forceberg]

The only solution is to LTIR/rehab him until the playoffs every year. Let him get his coke fix for 10 months. We just need him for two. Is that too much to ask Val?

LTIR Landy until the playoffs, then he has time to become 100%. Until then, Val plays after his suspension.

 

[Metallo]

The Avs would have a cap hit, spread out over a period of years. We do not know any more beyond that. Henchy has offered up he believes it'll end up in the neighborhood of around 2M on the cap, but he also states that's just a guess right now.

Wouldn't a straight buyout cost just over 2M$ per season? What is the point of settling if we are back to square one?