In the midst of what has been a great season for him so far, it was announced today that Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche is leaving the team for an indefinite period of time. Rumblings started this morning that he would be entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program, and that has since been confirmed by the league.
Whatever Nichushkin is dealing with, you wouldn't have guessed anything was wrong based on his performance on the ice. He leaves the Avalanche having played 40 games in 2023-24, and scoring 22 goals and 42 points. That put him on pace for around 86 points if he could have played all 82 games. It could have been a career year for him with a full season.
After winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, Nichushkin disappeared from Colorado's first round series against the Seattle Kraken the next season. While the Avs would go on to lose to Seattle, it was announced Nichushkin was out indefinitely, and he did not come back until the beginning of the current season.
