The last time the Colorado Avalanche played with Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin in the lineup was Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.
I can't imagine that happening again.
Valeri Nichushkin, who was placed in Stage 3 of the Player Assistance Program and suspended for at least six months last week, will not play another NHL game until at least November. If he is cleared to return to the league, I can't imagine he would be allowed back into the Avalanche locker room then. Most of the players in the locker room said the right things (or very little at all), but you could hear the frustration in their voices.
For the second season in a row, Coach Nichushkin has let us down at the most important time of the year. I sincerely hope that Mr. Nichushkin gets the help he needs on a personal level, but in business he has to make difficult decisions. The Avalanche just have to find a way to move forward without their big winger.
How they move forward is another matter entirely. The whole situation is a little unclear at this point, but The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported last week that the incident is not grounds for termination. Nichushkin's salary won't count towards the cap during his suspension, but he will need to free up space for the Avalanche the moment he returns.
It won't be easy to release a $6,125,000 contract right away, so it should be treated like dead cap space until there is clarity.
Unfortunately, this isn't the only uncertainty looming over the Avalanche's offseason.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog resumed skating in January after undergoing cartilage transplant surgery last May. He has to trust his eyes sometimes, and my eyes told me he hasn't looked that close to a return in recent weeks. When I asked Jared Bednar how close Landeskog was to playing, he admitted that's true.
“I don’t think we came close to getting him back,” Bednar said. “I think he was at the point where he wasn't going to be able to play this year. So they can be cautious and he needs to be ready this summer.”
This time last summer, the Avalanche were clear on what was going to happen to Landeskog next season. With him already ruled out, they could plan to spend that $7 million in cap space on other players. This year, even though they really want their captain back, they don't have that clarity (yet).
“I'm optimistic and hopeful that (he can return next season),” Bednar said. “And not just us, we really hope that Gabe can play again. He wants to play. It's been a long road for him. We just hope to see and be able to come back and play again.” I think it can happen. If anyone can do it, Gabe can do it.”
I would love nothing more than to see Landeskog play again, and I believe that will happen. However, expectations need to change. Even if he returns, he cannot be expected to be the same player he was before the surgery. This is a rare surgery, and no NHL player has returned to play after undergoing surgery. If he can come back and somehow get back to being a 30 goal scorer, then maybe he really is a golden god. But I'm not counting on that.
GM Chris McFarland is scheduled to speak in the near future, but these two players are sure to be the most talked about. The Avalanche can't make offseason plans until they have some clarity on what's going on.
It's not a great place for a team wanting to compete.
“I don't like it when there's uncertainty because it makes it hard to plan,” Bednar said after his team's loss to the Dallas Stars. “For management, for Chris or Joe, how do you plan? They make their situation as clear as possible and then they make a plan and go from there. I don't know. I mean, answers and clarity. We're looking forward to that, so we can build a team around that. But obviously there are a few players who are hitting the cap significantly. We'll see what happens this summer and July 1st. I don't know how quickly we can get things under control after that. That's a challenge. It's a big challenge.”
It's certainly a big challenge, and Colorado's status as a championship favorite next season may depend on it.
