Denver Post: Nichushkin involved in incident that prompted police/medical response

[Avs_19]

We still have no idea what happened but I think people are saying "he'll never play here again" way too easily just from the contract perspective alone. Even Kane's contract couldn't be terminated and look at everything he got into! You have to do something really egregious and break some rules in the CBA to go that route. If you're talking trade then what team is going to trade for 7 years of a player his current team doesn't want because of an off ice issue that may or may not exist?

He isn't just walking away from that money either.

 

[jaisen73]

Again, I'll wait for more info but as it stands now this sounds like a guy that either has a problem and I hope he gets the help he needs or, at worst, is a selfish, foolish idiot who let down his team in the middle of a playoff series. Probably somewhere between those two things.

 

[redacted]

We still have no idea what happened but I think people are saying "he'll never play here again" way too easily just from the contract perspective alone. Even Kane's contract couldn't be terminated and look at everything he got into! You have to do something really egregious and break some rules in the CBA to go that route. If you're talking trade then what team is going to trade for 7 years of a player his current team doesn't want because of an off ice issue that may or may not exist?

He isn't just walking away from that money either.

Kane is more proof that you can terminate a contract....

I'd be shocked if Nuke isn't back next year.

 

[Avs_19]

Kane is more proof that you can terminate a contract....

I'd be shocked if Nuke isn't back next year.

They did it and then settled knowing they weren’t going to win. So they terminated his contract but then had to pay him. Makes me think it might be harder going forward too.

 

[redacted]

They did it and then settled knowing they weren’t going to win. So they terminated his contract but then had to pay him. Makes me think it might be harder going forward too.

Yeah but they don't have the contract or cap hit. Same thing happened with Richards (though they got some cap hit). Both are proof you can void a contract. This situation won't merit it, but we can see the mechanism is there to void one.

 

[Avs_19]

Yeah but they don't have the contract or cap hit. Same thing happened with Richards (though they got some cap hit). Both are proof you can void a contract. This situation won't merit it, but we can see the mechanism is there to void one.

Good luck convincing Kroenke!

 

[redacted]

Good luck convincing Kroenke!

Stan loves a good contract court battle... he's made an empire off it in real estate.

It doesn't matter though, Nuke's contract isn't getting voided over this.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

I had the same thought to be honest. I was just saying that if it was a maintenance day then it is normal they wouldn't check on him until later in the day.

Nice to see someone using some logic here versus emoting.... Well done.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

We still have no idea what happened but I think people are saying "he'll never play here again" way too easily just from the contract perspective alone. Even Kane's contract couldn't be terminated and look at everything he got into! You have to do something really egregious and break some rules in the CBA to go that route. If you're talking trade then what team is going to trade for 7 years of a player his current team doesn't want because of an off ice issue that may or may not exist?

He isn't just walking away from that money either.

And Kane just might win a Stanley Cup.... How's that for karma?

 

[The Moops]

I had the same thought to be honest. I was just saying that if it was a maintenance day then it is normal they wouldn't check on him until later in the day.

I'm guessing "checking on him" usually isn't the team doctor using a spare key to check his room though. You'd think a text message would be sufficient. I'm guessing he was totally MIA for them to go check his room

 

[Hanji]

I'm guessing "checking on him" usually isn't the team doctor using a spare key to check his room though. You'd think a text message would be sufficient. I'm guessing he was totally MIA for them to go check his room

..that, or Nichushkin's issues were already a lingering problem.

Didn't Lekhonen's dad comment on about the situation and insinuate what occured wasnt a suprise? I might be wrong about that though.

 

[Pokecheque]

The more this lingers, the more I'm wishing to clean my hands of this guy.

Easier said than done of course, but I don't think it's a guarantee he's in an Avs uniform come October 2023.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

How quickly people turn on the players despite no knowledge of what Val is going through. Unbelievable the outrage and vitriol hurled his way without an ounce of information worth anything. Im reserving judgement until I find out what is happening because calling for contract terminations and referring to him as a cancer when he could be in a very dark place mentally or otherwise is pretty f***ed up to me. The raw emotion of losing the series is fair, but you can't pin the loss entirely on him.

It’s the 1st year of an 8 year $50M contract and this shit happens.

Like it, or not he has an obligation to the team. I think people are warranted in having some frustration.

The optics are not good. We can’t pretend to ignore the information that is out there just because we like the player, even if it’s not the full story. Maybe, somehow, someway he comes out of this looking a lot better after more details leak, but if that’s the case wouldn’t we already know more?

Usually when things build up to this level, it’s not the 1st incident. It’s possible the Avs have been dealing with this for a while. We’ll see.

If he just rolls into training camp with no explanation, it’s going to be pretty weird.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

It’s the 1st year of an 8 year $50M contract and this shit happens.

Like it, or not he has an obligation to the team. I think people are warranted in having some frustration.

The optics are not good. We can’t pretend to ignore the information that is out there just because we like the player, even if it’s not the full story. Maybe, somehow, someway he comes out of this looking a lot better after more details leak, but if that’s the case wouldn’t we already know more?

Usually when things build up to this level, it’s not the 1st incident. It’s possible the Avs have been dealing with this for a while. We’ll see.

If he just rolls onto training camp with no explanation, it’s going to be pretty weird.

Frustration, confusion etc are all normal reactions. 'f*** Val', 'Terminate his contract', 'Team cancer' are some pretty emotional knee-jerk reactions, especially with any lack of information. The optics are absolutely not good, but there are still some legitimate potential scenarios as well as some really bad potential scenarios. Jumping to a conclusion either way seems like folly, he's been gone what, a week? Meanwhile the team have been playing do or die hockey, so if information hasn't come out yet maybe its because the team have been focussing on more important issues.

Maybe now the playoffs are over more information will come out, or maybe not. We don't know how any of the information even intersects. Allegedly he wasn't in his room when she was found, so how do we know he what he was even a party to? Maybe flying him out of there was a huge coincidence with what happened in his room? Maybe it wasn't. No one knows, but all of a sudden the player that everyone loved up until a week ago is a f***ing cancer?

 

[Hasbro]

If I was a player, I'd be so f***ing pissed at Nuke. Not sure he'll be welcome back next season the way he scurried off when they needed him most

Can you imagine what hell MacKinnon will wreak?

 

[The Moops]

The optics are absolutely not good, but there are still some legitimate potential scenarios as well as some really bad potential scenarios.

I honestly can't think of a single "legitimate" scenario where a possibly trafficked sex worker is too drunk/high to safely go home is found in his hotel room and he is rushed to the airport and is MIA since.

 

[Avs91]

It’s the 1st year of an 8 year $50M contract and this shit happens.

Like it, or not he has an obligation to the team. I think people are warranted in having some frustration.

The optics are not good. We can’t pretend to ignore the information that is out there just because we like the player, even if it’s not the full story. Maybe, somehow, someway he comes out of this looking a lot better after more details leak, but if that’s the case wouldn’t we already know more?

Usually when things build up to this level, it’s not the 1st incident. It’s possible the Avs have been dealing with this for a while. We’ll see.

If he just rolls into training camp with no explanation, it’s going to be pretty weird.

Can be said for the other way around just as easily. I agree with you, just pointing this out.

If what he did was so particularly egregious, the team could have just been like "The Colorado Avalanche are blah blah in the process of separating with the player at this time. No further comment until XYZ".

EDIT: something like this with Voynov, he was arrested and suspended by the NHL the same day. But maybe legal 'things' are preventing the Avs from doing this, but I would expect them to be like 'yeah he's done' Timeline of legal issues for LA Kings’ Slava Voynov

 

[cinchronicity]

On 1/12/22 I had an injury very similar to Nuke. My foot still is not right, and I did not try to lace up skates and play in the NHL. I presume Nuke has been playing in a great deal of pain, and likely juiced with pain killers. I pray that he did not add vodka to the calculus.

Quite a few people here immediately think the worst. But from what I can see, such criticisms are unfounded at this moment. When asked, Bednar stated that it would be 'unbelievable' if Nuke came back this year. This, from the King of No Comment. So I think this falls in the positive column. The security escort also needs to be clarified. To me, it seems like his safety is challenged, as I've seen Avs and other athletes out and about without security. But that would not be anything which Nuke caused.

The Hall of Fame is littered with guys who had some issues off the ice. I'm not ready to close the book on Nuke until we hear the entire story. I really don't care about rehab for drugs or booze as long as he recovers. I don't care about hookers as long as he gets square with the wife. What matters to me is his on-ice performance, and that performance alone. The rest is noise and not really any of my business.

 

[EdAVSfan]

The more this lingers, the more I'm wishing to clean my hands of this guy.

Easier said than done of course, but I don't think it's a guarantee he's in an Avs uniform come October 2023.

How does more time passing, with no change in known info, sway your mind?

How does more time passing without info make it more negative? We still have no idea what’s going on, or the full picture of what happened.

 

[The Kingslayer]

The more this lingers, the more I'm wishing to clean my hands of this guy.

Easier said than done of course, but I don't think it's a guarantee he's in an Avs uniform come October 2023.

I said he might have played his last game as an Av when this was first reported before the hooker stuff. Ill stick to that. The Avs arent an organization that would have a player like that on the roster IF thats what happened. If Val going through something else thats a different story.

 

[Spleenless Wonder21]

And Kane just might win a Stanley Cup.... How's that for karma?

Nauseating?

 

[The Pwnerer]

I don't know how this ends but this whole situation makes me really sad. Love Nuke's story, took a chance on the "bust" and he quickly became a fan favorite. When healthy he's as good as any two way power forward in the NHL. Just a menace on the forecheck and great in front of the net.

I think we tend to underestimate how hard it can be for players to fit in a locker room. I always worried how he fit on our team personality wise. Not the greatest english so probably hard to comminicate, not many Russians on the team, and the injury also seemed to really alienate him during the Stanley cup celebrations. I really hope this is a say it ain't so scenerio and everything is back to peachy by next year. But after the year from hell we just had, I'm ready for the worst news.

 

[Metallo]

My baseline scenario with Nuke (and Landy) is that he won't play for the Avs ever again unless I hear otherwise.

 

[JoeSakic13]

My baseline scenario with Nuke (and Landy) is that he won't play for the Avs ever again unless I hear otherwise.

Otherwise.

 

[The Merchant]

Fwiw the DNVR crew made it explicitly clear that Nuke's career is not in jeopardy. Not sure what, if anything, they've heard behind the scenes, but there's that I guess.