Suspended Valeri Nichushkin cleared to practice with Avalanche, remains in player assistance program

DENVER (AP) – The team has received permission to begin practices, suspended Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin announced Monday.

But Nichushkin remains in Stage 3 NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and is not suitable for playing in games. His sentence is planned to last until at least mid-November.

His return will strengthen the team, which is already weak this season due to injuries. The Avalanche could soon have Artturi Lehkonen back, who was activated from injured reserve on Monday. He is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

Nichushkin did not make the postseason team for the second consecutive season last May due to ice conditions. The league and players association announced the suspension an hour before the start of the Avalanche’s 5-1 defeat against the Dallas Stars on May 13. second round series to lose to Colorado.

The 29-year-old Russian right winger suddenly left the team in the first round play-off series in 2023. vs Seattle for reasons described as personal reasons. He missed the final five games of the postseason as the Avalanche lost the series 4-3.

Nichushkin is under contract through the 2029-30 season after signing an eight-year, $49 million contract with the team in 2022. He scored a career-best 28 goals in 54 regular season games last year.

The struggling Avalanche are without forward captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Ross Colton (broken foot), Jonathan Drouin (upper body) and Miles Wood, who was benched Monday with an upper-body injury.

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AP NHL:

Pat Graham, Associated Press