No clarity, little subtlety on Avalanche's Valeri Nichushkin situation: “What happens here moving forward, that's up to him”

Chris MacFarland and Gabe Landeskog spent nearly an hour taking questions from assembled media Thursday, and there were nearly as many queries about Valeri Nichushkin as there were about the Avalanche captain. Nichushkin, who is currently serving a suspension of at least six months after being forced back into the NHL-NHLPA Player Assistance Program for the third time in 13 months, has a lot of work to do beyond just the requirements for reinstatement from the league. Nichushkin was placed into Stage 3 of the assistance program and suspended the day of Game 4 of Colorado's second-round series against the Dallas Stars. The Avs were clearly a Stanley Cup contender with him in the lineup in 2023-24, and Nichushkin had the best statistical season of his career despite missing nearly two months while in Stage 2.