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

[Cypher]

You suck it up for a year, feed Nuke all the goals/PP time, and trade his ass June 15 when his NMC changes to a 12-team NTC

 

[RoyIsALegend]

You suck it up for a year, feed Nuke all the goals/PP time, and trade his ass June 15 when his NMC changes to a 12-team NTC

In this scenario, you’re also banking on him getting clean or, at the very least, not getting caught again.

That seems unlikely.

 

[henchman21]

In this scenario, you’re also banking on him getting clean or, at the very least, not getting caught again.

That seems unlikely.

Yup... dude couldn't make it 4 months fully well knowing his next test would trigger the next phase. January 15th, placed into phase 2 PAP after he likely got pinched. Right before 4 months, gets placed into a phase 3. Nuke making it from November to May without getting caught just seems incredibly unlikely.

IMO if he's back with the Avs, he probably makes it to March and sometime between there and May he gets caught again.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

I’m more amused that more people don’t understand that addicts lie. All day, every day. They’re better liars than politicians.

Also amused that people (perhaps including Nichushkin) are ignoring the fact that cocaine is a stimulant, which just maybe perhaps possibly might be the reason the man can’t sleep at night.

Finish a hard fought hockey game around 11pm, home around midnight, snort up a gram or two at 11:02pm………. what could possibly go wrong?

FIFY.

 

[henchman21]

FIFY.

 

[Balthazar]

The Avs made a deal with the devil and got a Cup out of it.

They made a new deal after the cup though

 

[expatriatedtexan]

They made a new deal after the cup though

That's the craziest thing to me. They already knew by then he was a problem waiting to go off, AND they already got a cup out of him. WTF did they sign him for so long and with any type of movement protection? This whole situation was self-inflicted by Joe and Chris. I can't say I haven't derived some pleasure from the fact that they are squirming right now and will be for some time... I just hope they actually learn from this.

 

[Balthazar]

That's the craziest thing to me. They already knew by then he was a problem waiting to go off, AND they already got a cup out of him. WTF did they sign him for so long and with any type of movement protection? This whole situation was self-inflicted by Joe and Chris. I can't say I haven't derived some pleasure from the fact that they are squirming right now and will be for some time... I just hope they actually learn from this.

8 years lol

 

[AvsMakar08]

I’m more amused that more people don’t understand that addicts lie. All day, every day. They’re better liars than politicians.

Also amused that people (perhaps including Nichushkin) are ignoring the fact that cocaine is a stimulant, which just maybe perhaps possibly might be the reason the man can’t sleep at night.

Finish a hard fought hockey game around 11pm, home around midnight, snort up a gram or two at 1am………. what could possibly go wrong?

Yeah but if you would have understood the video Nuke actually said that he was not the only one with sleep problems on the Avs roster. There were a handful of Avs players there were unable to get adequate sleep and only were able to fall a sleep at certain time of the night.

 

[ABasin]

Yeah but if you would have understood the video Nuke actually said that he was not the only one with sleep problems on the Avs roster. There were a handful of Avs players there were unable to get adequate sleep and only were able to fall a sleep at certain time of the night.

How many cokeheads do blow alone?

Look, I understand that a lot of fans want a happy ending here. Or perhaps they simply wish the best for Nichushkin, and are thus giving him every benefit of the doubt.

Thing is, you just can’t believe people who are in the midst of a drug addiction. Nichushkin has a big credibility problem here, even if snippets of what he says is true.

 

[AvsMakar08]

How many cokeheads do blow alone?

I don't know man. I have never been around cokeheads. I don't know if they prefer to do it alone or in small groups together for more fun. In a small group it would be safer because if an overdose happens then someone in the group can summon for help.

 

[Gumballhead]

I don't know man. I have never been around cokeheads. I don't know if they prefer to do it alone or in small groups together for more fun. In a small group it would be safer because if an overdose happens then someone in the group can summon for help.

Goes great with booze from what i’ve seen.

 

[dahrougem2]

That's the craziest thing to me. They already knew by then he was a problem waiting to go off, AND they already got a cup out of him. WTF did they sign him for so long and with any type of movement protection? This whole situation was self-inflicted by Joe and Chris. I can't say I haven't derived some pleasure from the fact that they are squirming right now and will be for some time... I just hope they actually learn from this.

Ehhhhhh this is 20/20 revisionist history.

The Val Nichushkin leading up to the Stanley Cup was a 68 point pace two-way monster who was arguably the best player in the SCF and did not publicly have any issues with the PAP while with the Avs.

Go back and look at the discussion on this forum. People said out of Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Manson, Kadri, Burakovsky, and Kuemper it was Val who was the 100% must to bring back, no questions asked.

Shit luck for us to have him go off the rails like this because he obviously either A) kept it together for 21-22 or B) managed to not get caught, but the Avs keeping him was what all of us wanted.

 

[ABasin]

Ehhhhhh this is 20/20 revisionist history.

The Val Nichushkin leading up to the Stanley Cup was a 68 point pace two-way monster who was arguably the best player in the SCF and did not publicly have any issues with the PAP while with the Avs.

Go back and look at the discussion on this forum. People said out of Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Manson, Kadri, Burakovsky, and Kuemper it was Val who was the 100% must to bring back, no questions asked.

Shit luck for us to have him go off the rails like this because he obviously either A) kept it together for 21-22 or B) managed to not get caught, but the Avs keeping him was what all of us wanted.

Yep. This post is accurate.

 

[Balthazar]

Ehhhhhh this is 20/20 revisionist history.

The Val Nichushkin leading up to the Stanley Cup was a 68 point pace two-way monster who was arguably the best player in the SCF and did not publicly have any issues with the PAP while with the Avs.

Go back and look at the discussion on this forum. People said out of Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Manson, Kadri, Burakovsky, and Kuemper it was Val who was the 100% must to bring back, no questions asked.

Shit luck for us to have him go off the rails like this because he obviously either A) kept it together for 21-22 or B) managed to not get caught, but the Avs keeping him was what all of us wanted.

You're falsely assuming that because fans didn't know about his issues the team didn't know either.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Ehhhhhh this is 20/20 revisionist history.

The Val Nichushkin leading up to the Stanley Cup was a 68 point pace two-way monster who was arguably the best player in the SCF and did not publicly have any issues with the PAP while with the Avs.

Go back and look at the discussion on this forum. People said out of Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Manson, Kadri, Burakovsky, and Kuemper it was Val who was the 100% must to bring back, no questions asked.

Shit luck for us to have him go off the rails like this because he obviously either A) kept it together for 21-22 or B) managed to not get caught, but the Avs keeping him was what all of us wanted.

The key here is that you used the words "did not publicly have any issues...."

The narrative I have heard is that Seattle was not the first time the Avs were made aware of Nuke's habit. The implication being they have had issues with Nuke prior, but were able to suppress the stories from going public. I'm not thinking anything too nefarious probably happened but something along the lines of missing practice a time or two, maybe even showing up to work in an unfit condition...those things could easily be kept quiet. But once a doc calls 911 because there's now also a hooker involved who is so smashed she can't even get into a cab and our boy blew town before the cops even showed up...well, good luck keeping the lid on that. *LOL*

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Man, great player, having fantastic playoff run, but if you can't trust him to be professional and not selfish, you have to cut bait.

Addiction is not selfishness.
An addict is not himself. He is the addiction, or what the addiction makes him.

60 minutes showed a very interesting treatment for addiction last night. Still in the experimental stage but very promising.

 

[Pokecheque]

That's the craziest thing to me. They already knew by then he was a problem waiting to go off, AND they already got a cup out of him. WTF did they sign him for so long and with any type of movement protection? This whole situation was self-inflicted by Joe and Chris. I can't say I haven't derived some pleasure from the fact that they are squirming right now and will be for some time... I just hope they actually learn from this.

They did not know it was gonna blow up in their face like that though. No one did. Also, whatever injury he played through that season may have played a part in his eventual addiction and subsequent hijinks.

I don’t really blame them for signing him, he single-handedly raises their level of play in a way no other guy on the roster can do.

 

[Pokecheque]

You're falsely assuming that because fans didn't know about his issues the team didn't know either.

And you’re assuming there were rampant issues behind the scenes in 2021-22.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

They did not know it was gonna blow up in their face like that though. No one did. Also, whatever injury he played through that season may have played a part in his eventual addiction and subsequent hijinks.

I don’t really blame them for signing him, he single-handedly raises their level of play in a way no other guy on the roster can do.

I'm sorry Poke, I'm just going to have to disagree. If I've received bad info and Seattle is in fact the first time Joe and Chris knew Val was doing coke, then I'm sorry. But I don't believe that to be true. Do you really?

If they were aware of his usage, then this is exactly what you pay your management team to do. Minimize risk and maximize reward. Like pinning their hopes on RyJo, this was just the wrong choice (obviously much easier to see in 20/20 but again...this is what a GM is paid to do and look into). And that's okay! There is no GM in any sport that has anything close to a blemish free record. I just want them to learn from it.

 

[dahrougem2]

You're falsely assuming that because fans didn't know about his issues the team didn't know either.

You are assuming he had issues that season. Nobody knows, but he was clearly available and playing amazing.

The key here is that you used the words "did not publicly have any issues...."

The narrative I have heard is that Seattle was not the first time the Avs were made aware of Nuke's habit. The implication being they have had issues with Nuke prior, but were able to suppress the stories from going public. I'm not thinking anything too nefarious probably happened but something along the lines of missing practice a time or two, maybe even showing up to work in an unfit condition...those things could easily be kept quiet. But once a doc calls 911 because there's now also a hooker involved who is so smashed she can't even get into a cab and our boy blew town before the cops even showed up...well, good luck keeping the lid on that. *LOL*

Perhaps, but again nothing was public, teammates seemingly loved him and the org was happy to pay him. Everything was sunshine and rainbows

 

[EdAVSfan]

I would bet that if every players dirty laundry was aired a little more publicly, there would be tons of players where you’d ask yourself « why would they sign this guy long term? »

 

[AvsMakar08]

I'm sorry Poke, I'm just going to have to disagree. If I've received bad info and Seattle is in fact the first time Joe and Chris knew Val was doing coke, then I'm sorry. But I don't believe that to be true. Do you really?

If they were aware of his usage, then this is exactly what you pay your management team to do. Minimize risk and maximize reward. Like pinning their hopes on RyJo, this was just the wrong choice (obviously much easier to see in 20/20 but again...this is what a GM is paid to do and look into). And that's okay! There is no GM in any sport that has anything close to a blemish free record. I just want them to learn from it.

You keep repeating yourself that Avs hopefully have learned from their mistakes but today they signed a guy who had mental health issues and maybe even substance abuse because a lot of times they are linked together.

Then there are posters who are saying that hockey players drug of choice is coke and how many of the professional athletes use it and how difficult is it for the league to catch them. Avs learning from this mistake is not as easy as saying "ehhh, hopefully Avs has learned from their mistake".

 

[MonsterMack]

Isn't the reality here that none of this would be an issue if the hotel incident didn't happen? There are likely coke heads on every team. I'm not even sure the league gives a shit outside of image issues.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Isn't the reality here that none of this would be an issue if the hotel incident didn't happen? There are likely coke heads on every team. I'm not even sure the league gives a shit outside of image issues.

I mean I think a good amount of dudes on the Avs are doing coke semi regularly and honestly I don't really care. Probably the exact same with a good chunk of your/our coworkers really. The problems come when it affects your everyday life and coworkers.