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

[The Abusement Park]

I would like to see Landeskog get a shot at 3C to see how he does with it.

Ahh yes… we should play Landy in a position he’s never played full time that demands much more skating after having to relearn how to skate and not playing for 2.5 years.

 

[nightonthesun]

I personally would like to get rid of him, but if in fact the locker room is fine with giving him another chance, who am I to say no to that. Value wise, there won't be a better option for the top-6.

Exactly where I’m at. How betrayed or indignant I feel doesn’t matter. If the team has his back and welcomes him again into the fold, however guardedly, then, okay: that’s part of the storyline.

 

[Gumballhead]

I feel like either they are really done with him at all costs, even if they can't make it benefit the team, like a bad trade or a buyout, or the FO and locker room are willing to maybe get the football taken away at the last moment one more time, and let itself play to its conclusion based on what Val does.

I think the latter is less likely only because I can't believe he's not reviled in the org now after all this. Even if they care about the person, the hockey player is the part they need and you need both to be ok.

 

[willy702]

Then this locker has some serious issues, imho...

A player that single handly killed 2 playoff runs with a team in their prime and closing window can f*** himself.

If this team really welcomes his ass back, good night. This has drama written all over. No way this guy will stay sober for the rest of his contract, yet for another playoff-run.

Hell, i dont even think he makes it to November without another "accident".



The moment your friends and colleagues f*** you over again and again, you would be done with them. I bet on that.

What if they held the key to getting you what you really wanted? If someone is replaceable then of course we all would say screw that, we prefer reliability. When someone can't be replaced so easily then we generally have to just take that option. That's what Nate and the organization have basically been saying here.

 

[Grigowski]

What if they held the key to getting you what you really wanted? If someone is replaceable then of course we all would say screw that, we prefer reliability. When someone can't be replaced so easily then we generally have to just take that option. That's what Nate and the organization have basically been saying here.

I am sure there will be options. The question is: Do the AVS like these options.......

I stand by it: A hockey team is like a unit/body: And to safe the body you sometimes have to cut out the "cancer" or damaged parts. Even if it means to get rid of a very good player (when he is on).

Dont forget: 2 playoff-runs derailed... in a row....

My guess, and thats just me:
The player wont make it out of Phase 3 clean. And there is a strong possibility thats what will happen.
Problem solved.

Look, i said it multiple times: I wish the private person and human being all the best and that he can overcome his inner demons. For his own sake and for his young family.

But i dont want the player around this team anymore. And i doubt Nichushkin is suited for this life as a NHL-player. And even if he makes it out of this 6 month without another incident (i really doubt that, to be honest), it will be just a matter of time when Strike 3 will happen.

 

[SB]

Maybe they can just handcuff him to someone else during next season's playoffs ....

 

[Gumballhead]

Maybe they can just handcuff him to someone else during next season's playoffs ....

Landy. They’d have two completely healthy legs between them and maybe they can count as one player on the ice.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Where is that Mack quote from? He knows Val is their best chance to win. I know we are in our feelings still but the worst case scenario isn’t him playing on this team again, it’s playing for a team like Vegas for 1 million dollars,

 

[Gumballhead]

Where is that Mack quote from? He knows Val is their best chance to win. I know we are in our feelings still but the worst case scenario isn’t him playing on this team again, it’s playing for a team like Vegas for 1 million dollars,

Haha, what could go wrong with Val in Vegas?

 

[SB]

Landy. They’d have two completely healthy legs between them and maybe they can count as one player on the ice.

Like the three-legged race?

 

[AvBuff]

Haha, what could go wrong with Val in Vegas?

Vegas - the Team and the Town - know how to cover for "celebrities gone wild". Las Vegas has been guaranteeing complete discretion and anonymity for bad celebrity behavior since Bugsy Siegel. The entire City depends on it. The Casinos have cops, doctors, chemists - you name it - ready to spring into action to ensure what happens there, stays there.

Nuke could truly "thrive" in Vegas . . . in all kinds of ways.

Translation: maybe Plan A should be to keep him clean, and keep him here. Nichushkin in Las Vegas would be a problem.

 

[Frenchy]

Maybe they can just handcuff him to someone else during next season's playoffs ....

he tried that in Seattle and that's when the BS started

 

[Avs44]

Where is that Mack quote from? He knows Val is their best chance to win. I know we are in our feelings still but the worst case scenario isn’t him playing on this team again, it’s playing for a team like Vegas for 1 million dollars,

It appears to be from here.

 

[HartKinnon]

Where is that Mack quote from? He knows Val is their best chance to win. I know we are in our feelings still but the worst case scenario isn’t him playing on this team again, it’s playing for a team like Vegas for 1 million dollars,

Its from here:

Goalie musical chairs, MacKinnon on playing with Crosby, and 3 other NHL items

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.The NHL's version of musical chairs began Wednesday, with starting goalies Jacob Markstrom and Darcy Kuemper switching teams and conferences.Markstrom, 34, was shipped to New Jersey after four seasons with Calgary, while Kuemper...

www.thescore.com

 

[Grigowski]

Vegas - the Team and the Town - know how to cover for "celebrities gone wild". Las Vegas has been guaranteeing complete discretion and anonymity for bad celebrity behavior since Bugsy Siegel.

I think a player in Phase 3 will get a tight monitoring from the league or NHLPA

So good luck to Vegas to cover up something when the league knocks on his door for a unannounced drug test.

Its not the cover up, hell, even the AVS got away with that Seattle-incident, its the drugs that will dig him in.

An addict living in Vegas, Sin City, surrounded by hookers and drugs everywhere... I dont see a "good" match here. I dont even see Nuke make it through christmas there without another scandal.

So i call this "nuke could thrive in Vegas" and other nonsense simple "bullshit". No, he wont. The moment he signs in Vegas he also signs his contract termination or even worse.

Nichushkin in Las Vegas would be a problem.

For is own and family, yeah. And thats it.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I think a player in Phase 3 will get a tight monitoring from the league or NHLPA

So good luck to Vegas to cover up something when the league knocks on his door for a unannounced drug test.

Its not the cover up, hell, even the AVS got away with that Seattle-incident, its the drugs that will dig him in.

An addict living in Vegas, Sin City, surrounded by hookers and drugs everywhere... I dont see a "good" match here. I dont even see Nuke make it through christmas there without another scandal.

So i call this "nuke could thrive in Vegas" and other nonsense simple "bullshit". No, he wont. The moment he signs in Vegas he also signs his contract termination or even worse.

For is own and family, yeah. And thats it.

My understanding is that they don't really get increased testing after they've been reinstated. I could be wrong, but I was trying to look this up last night and could not find anything written to suggest that they do, in fact, get tested more frequently.

 

[henchman21]

My understanding is that they don't really get increased testing after they've been reinstated. I could be wrong, but I was trying to look this up last night and could not find anything written to suggest that they do, in fact, get tested more frequently.

The PAP's details are not public. There is an increase in testing, and it is primarily during the season. During the offseason the NHL barely tests at all.

 

[Foppa2118]

I just don't see Mack as someone who is going to play media games. He doesn't like talking to reporters as it is...

For him to say anything at all speaks volumes.

Yeah, Nate's not the kind of guy to just throw out cliche quotes. If he says the team loves Val and he personally hopes he's back for the rest of his career, he means it, and that means at least that he isn't aware that Val is 100% gone.

I know it's the internet way now these days to talk with absolute certainty on every topic, but there's a lot of factors involved here, to sway the team in a few different directions. We don't know how it will play out.

If they make the calculation that it's better to keep him (at least in the short term), than their other options, that's what they'll do. But I bet they don't even know for sure how this will play out. A lot depends on Val regarding a few of their options, both in keeping him, and letting him go.

 

[SB]

he tried that in Seattle and that's when the BS started

That was the bedpost!