Valeri Nichushkin will be back with the Avalanche

The Valeri Nichushkin saga has been in full swing since the first round of the playoffs. During the first-round series between the Avalanche and the Kraken, a team doctor allegedly found a severely intoxicated woman in Nichushkin’s hotel room just hours before a game.

In the end, the Russian forward was not guilty of doing anything illegal in this case, having left the team in the wake of these events. This is what Mikhail Zislis, a journalist with Russian media outlet Sport-Express, reports.

According to Zislis, there was never any question of preventing Nichushkin’s return to the Colorado team. So Nichushkin probably didn’t do anything illegal (at least not anything serious).

The reason for his departure would be to heal old injuries and take some time for himself. There have been several rumours in recent weeks that he was suffering from alcohol problems. This could be one of those old wounds.

Head coach Jared Bednar had already confirmed that Nichushkin’s absence had nothing to do with the law or a team sentence. I guess he wasn’t lying, and the Russian just needed a rest.

In fact, the affair with the intoxicated woman took place in the hotel lobby, not in Nichushkin’s room.

It’s safe to assume that Valeri Nichushkin will be back with the Avalanche next season. They’ll probably want to bounce back after being eliminated in the first round against the Seattle Kraken.

Having Nichushkin’s support should help Colorado, as he was again very effective during the 2022-23 season. In 53 games, he collected 47 points, including 17 goals.

The saga seems to be over, but a few details are still missing. I understand that the story is personal for Nichushkin, but we certainly want to understand all the details that led to such a big controversy.

In bursts

– Beautiful to watch.

30 excellent seconds from Mavrik Bourque during the warmup 🚨 ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/Ibr04bLTKh

– Marc-André Perreault (@MA_PerreaultTVA) May 25, 2023

– We want more players like Tkachuk.

Matthew Tkachuk is one of the latest specimens🧐🏒https://t.co/lI5avACEDo

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 25, 2023

– Quite a fish.

🐟🏒🐟 https://t.co/DDvU8sORoN

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 25, 2023

– He looks great.

– Manchester United will be back in the Champions League.