Valeri Nichushkin enters Stage 3 of NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program after failed drug test

The NHL has announced that Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin has been played in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

As a result, Nichushkin has been suspended without pay for a minimum of six months. After that, he will be eligible to apply for reinstatement back into the league. The news takes Nichushkin out for the remainder of the 2023-24 NHL playoff season.

According to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli, sources say that Nichushkin recently failed a drug test.

Last year, Nichushkin missed part of Colorado’s playoff run after a 911 call was made in Seattle after an intoxicated woman was found in his hotel room.

Nichushkin has nine goals and 10 points in 10 playoff games for the Avalanche this year. The Avs are set to play the Dallas Stars at 9:30 PM ET on Monday, entering Game 4 trailing 1-2.

Nichushkin was placed in the player assistance program back in January, missing 21 games before returning in March. He finished the regular season with 28 goals and 53 points in 54 games, marking one of the best seasons of his career.

The 6-foot-4 winger was part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup victory in 2022.

The Chelyabinsk, Russia, native is in the second season of an eight-year deal worth $6.125 million per season. Drafted 10th overall in 2013, Nichushkin started off slow, spending parts of three years with Dallas before spending two years in the KHL.

Nichskin had no goals and 10 assists in 57 games in his NHL return the following year before signing in Colorado in 2019. That’s where things started to look up for the big forward, with Nichushkin registering 25 goals and 52 points in 2021-22. He has 26 points in his last 30 playoff games with the Avs over the past three years.