Joe Sakic reveals a possible timeline for Valeri Nichushkin to return to the ice

Joe Sakic, President of Hockey Operations for the Avalanche stated that he believes Valeri Nichushkin will be back playing by mid-November.

This announcement came on the show AltitudeSR, and posted on X by Power of Friendship. The Avalanche has been without the veteran since May 13th, 2024, due to a suspension in the middle of the second round of the playoffs.

This comes as good news for a team that is depleted in the forward position. His presence on one of the lines for the Aves will only help the team.

In May of 2024 Nichushkin was placed in Stage 3 of the NHL Player Assistance Program. This stage carries a minimum of six months suspended without pay.

Nichushkin signed a deal for one-year in August of 2019 with Colorado, and since has been a pivotal player for them. After that one-year deal he remained with the team and in 2022 signed a 8-year contract extension for $49 million guaranteed salary with a $5 million signing bonus.

Prior to signing this extension, Nichushkin had a career year with the Aves, playing in 62 games and scoring 25 goals with 27 assists.

During that 2022 Stanley Cup winning season, Nichushkin was invaluable to the team, scoring 15 points (9G, 6A) in 20 games. He scored four of those goals in the championship finals, tying Joe Sakic and Alex Tanguay (2001) for the most goals in team history in a championship series.

As Read On: HockeyOTB - Avalanche to possibly have Valeri Nichushkin back by Mid November

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