Joe Sakic finally reveals the Avalanche's plans for Valeri Nichushkin

Yesterday Colorado Avalanche captain and franchise icon Joe Sakic confirmed that reporters that suspended forward Valeri Nichushkin is eligible to return to the team in November once his 6 month NHL suspension concludes.

Nichsushkin was suspended a 'minimum of 6 months' by the NHL back in May and ordered into Stage 3 of the NHLPA's Player Assistance Program, an addiction and behavioral health recovery program.

You'll remember that Nichushkin was originally removed from the Avs' roster after a strange interaction with an unnamed woman in a Seattle hotel room back in April, 2023. The woman was heavily intoxicated to the point where she required medical attention. Paramedics arrived on the scene to find a distraught Ukranian-born woman who knew barely any English. She claimed that a 'very bad man' stole her passport and identification. The Avalanche's management team was then accused of covering things up for Nichushkin. There's still not any clear indication on what exactly transpired that evening. All we have is police body-cam footage to try to piece things together.

The Russian forward has in the past shared that he struggles with addiction issues and was worked to try to resolve those problems. He has had to leave his team twice in the past two seasons for treatment and was most recently handed a stiff suspension from the NHL for violating the terms of his program. 

The problem is that Nichushkin may have burned a bridge he cannot rebuild. Would his teammates even want him back in November?

The talented Russian forward let his team down in a major way during their second round playoff series against the Dallas Stars when he earned himself a 6 month suspension with reports that the suspension came as a result of a failed drug test.

The Avalanche would of course subsequently be eliminated at the hands of the aforementioned Stars with many fans left to wonder how things could have been different if the Avalanche hadn't been missing one of their core forwards.

Unfortunately this isn't the first time that Nichushkin has let his team down in a similar fashion, and it may very well be that the teammates who have had to deal with his antics have now had enough.

"Does the team want to bring him back?" asked NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "And right now the feelings are very raw."

I can't even begin to imagine how frustrated players in the Avalanche locker room have to be with Nichushkin with him having seriously damaged their chances in the playoffs on two different occasions now. That is especially true when you think of players like Nathan MacKinnon, who by all accounts work extremely hard on their physical conditioning and health in order to maximize their chances of winning on the ice.

Unfortunately for the Avalanche it sounds like moving on from Nichushkin might be a little complicated.

"This is one where they don't have grounds to terminate his contract," revealed Friedman.

"You can't just unilaterally terminate his deal... grievances will force settlements."

Friedman believes this one could end with some type of settlement between player and team.

"At some point will there be a conversation between player and organization saying 'We would like to come to some kind of negotiated settlement so everyone can move on' but everyone has to agree with that and I don't think that's gonna happen in the short term," admitted Friedman.

I don't know how any of the players or personnel within the Avalanche organization feel, but I can't imagine a scenario where any of them would want Nichushkin back after two major fumbles during the most important time of the season, the Stanley Cup playoffs.