NHL Insider reveals stunning details behind Valeri Nichushkin's departure

The Colorado Avalanche have been without forward Valeri Nichushkin for their last two postseason games against the Seattle Kraken due to, as they put it, "personal reasons". Nichushkin was designated a late scratch prior to Game 3, and was reported to have gone to the airport and departed Seattle. 

But now, some stunning new details have emerged via Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff. 

As Seravalli mentioned while making an appearance on the "Halford & Brough in the Morning" show on Vancouver's Sportsnet 650, Nichushkin's absence from the Avalanche is reportedly due to an alcohol-related incident at the team hotel in Seattle.

"I've been working on the story as well," Seravalli said. "This is a tough one because, you're staring to blur the lines of personal and, you know, what part of it should be out there publicly. That's something we're all sifting through. My sense is that there was an alcohol-related incident that occurred. And I don't know what the next steps are, I don't know the depth of it, but it's clear that something happened at the team hotel on Friday night that necessitated the Colorado Avalanche to get in solved." 

"So, there is something ongoing - I don't know exactly what that is, but I'm working to find out more information while also trying to gauge how much of that should remain private, and how much of it, given the situation, should be public." 

The segment on Nichushkin can be heard here (Hour 2, begin at 19:40). 

Meanwhile, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar stated today that it would be "unbelievable" if Nichushkin were to return during this postseason. 

“I do not know," Bednar said. "I just don’t know. It’s personal reasons. If he came back to play in this series it would be unbelievable.”

Nichushkin appeared in 53 games for the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche this season, scoring 17 goals while adding 30 assists. He was a force in Colorado's title run last season, tallying nine goals in 20 playoff games and helping the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup since 2001.