Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin appears to be returning to the lineup this week based on the latest update from the team.
Nichushkin was suspended 6 months by the NHL last May after failing to abide by stage two of the league's player's assistance program, automatically putting him in stage three, which comes with a mandatory 6-month suspension.
Since then, the Russian forward has consistently been working towards his return to the ice. Last month, the Avalanche confirmed that Nichushkin was back in Denver practicing on his own as he gets closer to his much-anticipated return to the lineup. Since then, he has been cleared to rejoin the team despite the fact that his suspension is still active. This means that he has been practicing with his teammates on a regular basis.
Recently, the Russian winger has been seen practicing with other players that have been dealing with injuries in special sessions ahead of full team practices. It has been nice to see him back on the ice given how long he was away from the league.
Today, Avs head coach Jared Bednar gave us another big update, revealing that Nichushkin will play on Friday, November 15th. Nichushkin's suspension officially ends the day before.
Valeri Nichushkin has appeared in 512 career regular-season games split between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. It has largely been a tale of two careers for him as he revitalized his career upon joining the Avs. With Dallas, he had just 23 goals and 74 points in 223 games. With Colorado he has 93 goals and 200 points in 289 games. He's also been a beast for Colorado in the playoffs scoring 22 goals in 55 games. He had just 3 points in 17 career playoff contests with the Stars.
Notably, if Valeri Nichushkin breaches his agreement with the player's assistance program again, he would likely face a lifetime ban from the NHL. He still has seven years left on his deal with the Avs and that benchmark never gets reset so he will have to be on his best behavior for the rest of his career. Hopefully he can do that and continue to dominate the league.
