Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin out for 'personal reasons'

It was a surprising piece of news coming just hours after the Avalanche’s 6-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Nothing has been made public about his situation.

“I have no idea if it’s a long-term situation,” head coach Jared Bednar said.

The Avalanche are already playing without key player Gabriel Landeskog and losing Nichushkin is a big blow to the team.

Nichushkin is in the first year of his eight-year contract with the Avalanche following their Stanley Cup championship last year. His contract carries an AAV of $6.125 million. He has played two games for the Avalanche in the first-round playoff series versus the Seattle Kraken, scoring one goal.

In 53 games this season, Nichushkin scored 17 goals and 47 points, the highest points-per-game average of his NHL career. He played a huge part in the Avalanche Stanley Cup run last year, scoring six goals and 15 points in 20 playoff games, behind only Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and Cale Makar in playoff points.

Nichushkin was originally a 10th overall selection of the Dallas Stars in the 2013 NHL Draft. His initial stint in the NHL didn’t go as he would have liked and he went back to the KHL for two years following the three seasons he played in Dallas. He followed that up with another mediocre season for the Stars, scoring zero goals and 10 assists in 57 games during the 2018-19 season.

He immediately improved his stats upon signing with the Avalanche. During his four seasons in Denver, he scored 65 goals and 147 points in 235 games played.