The Avalanche get some disappointing news on Valeri Nichushkin’s injury
The Colorado Avalanche have yet to have forward Valery Nichuskin in their lineup in calendar year 2025; hasn’t played since their 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on New Year’s Eve.
He’s already missed six games and it doesn’t look like the Avalanche can expect him any time soon, despite initially giving a tentative timeframe of 7-10 days. His the deadline for return has been extendedaccording to head coach Jared Bednar.
In 21 games in which he played, Nichuskin scored 11 goals with six assists.
Sans Nichushkin, the The Avalanche will host the New York Rangers at the Ball Arena on Tuesday night; The puck is scheduled for 9:00 PM EST.
Avalanche forward Valery Nichushkin has been suspended to begin the 2024-25 season
Nichushkin was suspended for six months and entered Phase 3 of the NHLPA Player Assistance Program. He was already in the program earlier in the 2023-24 season and missed several games while receiving treatment for an undisclosed issue.
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This came after he retired from the team during their 2023 playoff series against the Seattle Kraken after being involved in an incident with a woman at a Seattle hotel.
He sat out the first 17 games of the 2024-25 season while serving out the remainder of his suspension, and will have to earn forgiveness from the rest of the club before returning, as Bednar explained before the start of the season.
“I think we’re going to have to have some discussions,” Bednar said. “It’s a little lower.” Val is not here. I think we’ll get it sorted probably before Val is here, and then again, when Val comes, I’m sure Val’s going to have some things he wants to say to the group, but again, I understand that he’s part of our team, and he’s a big, an important part of our team.”
“It’s kind of a team. It’s a family and sometimes you have to take hits, but there’s also got to be forgiveness.”
The 10th overall pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Nichuskin was in his sixth season with Colorado; he helped them win the 2022 Stanley Cup over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
2025-01-14 17:03:00
