Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin to make return Wednesday after 21-game absence
The Colorado Avalanche are set to welcome back forward Valeri Nichushkin from a 21-game absence on Wednesday night as they take on the New Jersey Devils.
Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters on Wednesday that the right winger will return from the lower body injury that has held him out since he picked up the knock in the New Year’s Eve game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Initially listed as day-to-day, multiple setbacks pushed his recovery timeline back to after the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The 30-year-old missed the first 17 games of the 2024-25 NHL season as well, while completing the automatic six months off after entering Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in May of 2024.
Nichushkin has played 21 games this season, scoring 11 goals and 17 points while playing an average of 19:37 per game. In 2023-24, he posted 28 goals and 53 points in 54 games.
His re-introduction comes at an intense time for the Avalanche, who sit in a Western Conference wild-card spot with 68 points after 59 games and a record of 33-24-2, including a 9-9-2 run through their last 20 contests. In their recent spell without him, the Avalanche went 10-9-2.
Per PuckPedia, Nichushkin is in the third year of an eight-year, $49 million contract with a cap hit of $6.125 million per season through the end of the 2029-30 season.
Val Nichushkin in burgundy with Jonathan Drouin and Casey Mittelstadt pic.twitter.com/QTfQlJjyP0
— Colleen Flynn (@CHNFlynn) February 25, 2025Fresh off a championship at the 4 Nations Face-Off with Canada, Nathan Mackinnon leads the Avalanche in scoring with 27 goals and 87 points. Meanwhile, Martin Necas has posted four goals and nine points in 10 games since joining Colorado in the blockbuster trade, which sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Avalanche have not missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2016-17 season but sit behind the Jets, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild in the Central Division.