The news first came out from Denver Post reporter Adrian Dater. He could not confirm anything, but did note that Nichushkin appeared to not be playing in game four.
Shortly after Dater's post, the NHL officially announced that Nichuskin had been placed in stage three of the Player's assistance program.
This is not an ordinary move. This is for repeat offenders, and comes with a minimum six-month suspension from the league, according to insider Chris Johnston, who posted the news immediately upon the official release.
Nichuskin will be a huge loss to the Avalanche, as he currently leads the team in goals with 9 through 8 playoff games. Be sure to tune in tonight to see how this affects the rest of Colorado's playoff run.
POLL | ||
MAI 13 | 155 ANSWERS Valeri Nichushkin given ban from the NHL for substance test failure Do you think the Colorado Avalanche can still beat the Dallas Stars in their playoff series even without Valeri Nichuskin? | ||
Yes | 49 | 31.6 % |
No | 106 | 68.4 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Mitch Marner | 2 | - | 2 | |
William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Logan Cooley | 1 | - | 1 | |
Dylan Guenther | - | 1 | 1 | |
Fraser Minten | - | 1 | 1 | |
Mikhail Sergachev | - | 1 | 1 | |
Chris Tanev | - | 1 | 1 | |
John Tavares | - | 1 | 1 | |
Simon Benoit | - | - | - | |
Nick Bjugstad | - | - | - | |
Michael Carcone | - | - | - | |
Ian Cole | - | - | - | |
Lawson Crouse | - | - | - | |
Connor Dewar | - | - | - | |
Oliver Ekman-Larsson | - | - | - | |
Barrett Hayton | - | - | - | |
Pontus Holmberg | - | - | - | |
Clayton Keller | - | - | - | |
Alexander Kerfoot | - | - | - | |
Michael Kesselring | - | - | - | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
Conference | Cumulative |