Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and suspended for a minimum of six months without pay for violating the terms of Stage 2, the NHL and NHLPA announced in a joint statement ahead of Colorado’s Game 4 matchup against the Dallas Stars on Monday night.
Advertisement
The suspension comes after Nichushkin failed a drug test, ESPN reported on the Game 4 pregame broadcast Monday.
Nichushkin will be eligible to apply for reinstatement starting after the six-month suspension window.
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin placed in Stage 3 of NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
Details: https://t.co/CgJeayHXDs pic.twitter.com/kMzjJlYKG3
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 14, 2024
Nichushkin took part in the Avs’ morning skate Monday. Coach Jared Bednar told media he learned of the suspension “sometime after pregame skate” later that day and waited until all his players were back at the rink to relay the news. Avs defenseman Cale Makar said he found out “basically before the game.”
“I’ve gotten to know Val as a person and I’ve gotten to know him as one of our teammates and I want what’s best for him. I want him to be happy and I want him to be content in his life, whether that is with our team or not with our team,” Bednar said. “I want the best for him and his family. I think all of our guys are the same. We hope that he can find some peace and get help. That’s the other side of it. Hockey is not life and death, even though we treat it like it is.”
When asked if he could see a future in which Nichushkin reunites with the Avs, Bednar said, “I have no idea.”
GO DEEPER
LeBrun: Valeri Nichushkin suspension presents no easy answer for Avalanche
Players do not face penalty for entering Stage 1 of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, which is their first in-patient treatment. If a player violates his treatment plan determined for Stage 1, he is placed in Stage 2 and suspended without pay during the active phase of treatment before being eligible to return.
If Nichushkin violates the terms of Stage 3, he will be put in Stage 4 and face suspension without pay for at least one year with no promise of reinstatement.
Nichushkin decided to enter the program in January and was cleared to return to practice in late February. In his return to game action on March 8, Nichushkin notched a power-play goal in overtime to defeat the Minnesota Wild.
Advertisement
The six-month suspension marks the third time Nichushkin will be away from the Avs in roughly the last year.
Nichushkin missed the final five games of Colorado’s first-round playoff loss to the Seattle Kraken last April after leaving the team under undisclosed circumstances.
Before Game 3 of that series, team physician Bradley Changstrom encountered an intoxicated woman when checking on Nichushkin at the team’s Seattle hotel, according to a Seattle Police Department Behavioral Crisis Report obtained by The Athletic. Changstrom determined the woman was too intoxicated to leave the hotel via taxi or rideshare service, so 9-1-1 was called and she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Officers spoke to Changstrom, a Denver police lieutenant traveling with the team and the 28-year-old woman, according to their body cam footage. They did not speak with Nichushkin, and there was no further police investigation into the incident. At the time, the team said Nichushkin’s absence was for “personal reasons.”
The forward rejoined the team at training camp in September and said his absence was due to a “family reason.”
The NHL/NHLPA player assistance program was created in 1996 to help players and their families with mental health, substance abuse and other matters.
In eight games played this postseason, Nichushkin had nine goals — which was a team high at the time of his suspension — and one assist.
Required reading
- Police: Avalanche physician found intoxicated woman when checking on Valeri Nichushkin; agent denies
- Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin entering NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, out indefinitely
- Valeri Nichushkin cleared to practice after entering NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in January
(Photo: Ashley Potts / NHLI via Getty Images)