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

DENVER — The return of suspended Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin to practice Monday was sudden enough that teammate Mikko Rantanen did a little double-take when he spotted him on the ice.

Rantanen recovered with an ice breaker.

“Threw a little joke to him, like, ‘It’s good to see you, Val,’” Rantanen recounted. “I didn’t even know he was skating with the team today until I saw him on the ice. ... I was excited to see him there."

For now, it's practice only for Nichushkin, who remains in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and ineligible to play in games. Although his suspension is slated to last until at least mid-November, coach Jared Bednar is hopeful Nichushkin can be back in the lineup on Nov. 15.

Nichushkin's return would bolster a team that’s already thin at forward this season due to a rash of injuries. But it's starting to turn around, with Artturi Lehkonen activated from injured reserve over the weekend and expected to make his season debut Tuesday against Seattle. He's been been sidelined since undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

“Need all the help we can get,” explained Bednar, who received news a few days ago that Nichushkin could return to practice. “Every guy we get back in, things start to shape up a little bit the way we want them to look.”

The banged-up Avalanche remain without forward captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Ross Colton (broken foot), Jonathan Drouin (upper body) and Miles Wood, who was placed on injured reserve Monday with an upper body injury. Drouin skated in a red, noncontact sweater Monday.

“A big boost,” defenseman Cale Makar said of teammates starting to return. “I mean, obviously, they play big roles for us.”

Makar said the team has taken a welcoming approach with Nichushkin.

Nichushkin was unavailable for a second straight postseason last May because of circumstances away from the ice. The league and the players’ association announced his suspension an hour before the start of the Avalanche’s 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on May 13 during a second-round series Colorado would lose.

The 29-year-old Russian right winger also abruptly left the team in a 2023 first-round playoff series against Seattle for what was described as personal reasons. He missed the final five games of that postseason as the Avalanche lost the series 4-3.

“I don’t think there’s anything that really needs to be said,” Makar said. “I think Val is one of those guys he’s going to put the work in, and you’ve got to trust that. If he wants to lean on us, we can always help him.

“It’s awesome to see him back. It’s awesome see him around the rink smiling and having fun and just being back on the ice with the guys.”

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

“We need him, obviously. I don’t want to go through the past at all, what has happened before, but we need him in the lineup,” Rantanen said. "He's a big part of our team, really good player, and he’s going to help us win games. So that’s why we’re excited to have him back, because all we care about is winning games.”