Gary Bettman: Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin will be eligible to play next season

The Colorado Avalanche will be getting forward Valeri Nichushkin back next season.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that Nichushkin will be eligible to play during a press conference ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers.

This came into question due to a situation where Nichushkin had been held out of the lineup ahead of the Avalanche’s Game 3 matchup against the Seattle Kraken due to “personal reasons”. 

It was later found out that an intoxicated woman was found in Nichushkin’s hotel room in Seattle, and was transported to the hospital for further care.

Police cam footage was released earlier this week, showing footage of their response with the situation, and their interactions with both the woman in question and the Avalanche’s team physician Bradley Changstrom at the hotel. 

Changstrom had called emergency services to the scene in order to ensure the woman’s safety due to the level of intoxication. The woman could be heard talking about her ID being stolen and that the person who did was a “bad man”, but never specified who she was referring to.

There are also several instances of audio being cut out in the footage, so there are still plenty of unknown factors involved. One instance was when Changstrom alluded to something about Nichushkin’s medical health being involved.

Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly applauded the Avalanche for how they handled the situation, and also confirmed that no NHL investigation would occur.

“We know exactly what happened and we think it was handled appropriately,” said Daly.

Nichushkin got into 53 regular season games this season, scoring 17 goals, 30 assists, and 47 points in 53 games. He only played in two playoff games for the Avalanche, and only scored one goal in their Game 2 win before departing for the remainder of the series.