Avalanche reacts to Valeri Nichushkin news: “He has made his decisions”

Colorado Avalanche right wingers Valeri Nichushkin (13) and Zach Parise (9) take the ice to warm up before Game 3 of the second round of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Dallas Stars in Denver, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

Jack Johnson couldn’t hide his frustration.

Fresh off a 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars that put this Avalanche season that began with championship aspirations on the brink, the veteran defenseman didn’t hold back as well as some of his teammates.

The Avs were without Valeri Nichushkin, the team’s leading scorer during these playoffs, in Game 4 against the Stars. They will be without him for at least six months after the NHL and NHLPA announced just before this competition that Nichushkin had been placed in Stage 3 of the player assistance program.

“He made his decisions,” Johnson said. “That’s all I’m going to say about that. He made his decisions.

Nichushkin’s entry into Stage 3 of the program was the result of a violation of the terms of his Stage 2 treatment. This stemmed from his time in the program during the regular season, when he missed nearly two months, but still finished with career highs in goals (28) and points (53) in just 54 games played.

Avs coach Jared Bednar said he learned the news after the team’s morning practice Monday. A few of the players who were still at Ball Arena during the afternoon found out early, but Bednar gathered the team to break the news after everyone had arrived for Game 4.

“It can (deflate a team) but you know we’re all human. We are all pros,” said Avs forward Jonathan Drouin. “It’s that kind of thing…you can’t control it. You can’t really dwell on it, you can’t really think about it. When we heard the news, like everyone else, we were shocked. And obviously it sucks, but I know we had to move forward and get ready for a game.

Bednar said his team seemed frozen in the first half. The Stars took a 3-0 lead and at one point the shots on goal were 22-4 in favor of the visitors.

Colorado made a late effort, but Dallas continued to prevent the Avalanche’s high-powered offense from creating a flurry of excellent chances that they love to feed off of.

This is the second straight series where Nichushkin’s absence has cast a shadow over the Avs. He missed the final five games of the club’s first-round loss to the Seattle Kraken last spring after leaving the team for what the club called “personal reasons.” A Seattle police report later revealed that an intoxicated woman was found in Nichushkin’s hotel room the morning before Game 3 of that series in Seattle.

“I’m not going to go. Val is obviously struggling with something,” Bednar said when asked how much Nichushkin had let the team down. “I have two thoughts. Yeah, it sucks for our team. We have to turn the page. We have to play much better than today. There are still over 20 guys in this room who care and want to win and are here. This is what we need to focus on. This hurts our team. There is no question. He’s a great player.

“And the second is I’ve gotten to know Val as a person and I’ve gotten to know him as one of our teammates and I want what’s best for him. I want him to be happy and I want him to be happy in his life, whether it’s with our team or not. I want the best for him and his family. …Val is a big priority. And our team is another. Now they are separated. They are not together.

The Avs started this season as one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup. They looked like it after dismantling the Winnipeg Jets in five games to start these playoffs.

Nichushkin played a big role in this, scoring seven times in the series. Now the Avs will go to Texas and try to save their season. Colorado lost the first two games without Nichushkin last year against Seattle, rallied to win Game 6 on the road, then fell flat in Game 7.