Valeri Nichushkin placed in NHLPA assistance program stage 3 - suspended without pay for min. 6 months

[1specter]

Huge blow to Avs Cup chances, dude is over a goal a game. No Nuke and no Landy as well is too much.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Players don’t typically get suspended for abusing non-performance enhancing substances. This must have been part of him being reinstated in the first place.

 

[waitin425]

Big fan of Nuke. Hope he gets healthy. Addiction sucks man.

 

[TheBeard]

Man, he must be dealing with some real demons. As someone who's had his own troubles, I sympathize.

 

[red devil]

Suspended for minimum 6 months without pay for failing drugs test.

Players only get paid during the regular season so he will miss around of a month's worth of pay if he is reinstated after the 6 months.

 

[Warden of the North]

Hope he gets the help be needs

 

[FoxYou727]

Wonder if what they swept under the rug last year did not stay under the rug.

Yea that entire situation was weird. And with how dismissive he was of the entire thing just doesn't look good

 

[Reaper45]

Suspended for minimum 6 months without pay for failing drugs test.

Not singling you out but didn’t this happen to Jere Karalahti back in the day?

 

[TheOrganist]

This dude is an effing head case.

 

[peconcan]

I don’t agree with drug use but as long as it’s not PEDs I don’t see why it matters. There’s no way he’s the only one in the league using drugs. Assuming he’s a coke head or something that only negatively affects himself. Either way hopefully he gets the help he needs

 

[BerthMania]

I'm not sure I have all the facts, from what I've seen now he failed a drug test, but we have no idea he failed a drug test for which drug, If it's a performance enhancing drug it's 100% deserved, if it's cocaine or another drug he uses because he's addicted or likes to have fun I don't see why he should be suspended for it.

 

[Laus723]

Wow. Hope he gets the help he needs.

 

[Avs44]

Players don’t typically get suspended for abusing non-performance enhancing substances. This must have been part of him being reinstated in the first place.

I mean it's "stage 3" of the program...does anyone know what that exactly means? My best guess is "stage 1" was after last year's playoffs when he left the team; "stage 2" was in January of this year when he entered the program again; and now this is strike 3. I'm guessing they were some pretty stringent requirements about his return...this is the third time in the past ~365 days he's needed assistance. Clearly he's got a huge problem.

 

[VoidCreature]

Kuznetsov was caught doing coke and he got three games. Something tells me this was worse.

 

[FlameChampion]

Does NHL even do drug testing? Seems weird to me. I guess he did something that really stood out in a bad way.

 

[red devil]

Ruzicka had his contract terminated by the Coyotes after his Instagram story shown some coke in it.

 

[Asinine]

Does NHL even do drug testing? Seems weird to me. I guess he did something that really stood out in a bad way.

Could have just been because of his prior issues and time on the assistance program.

 

[Avsavsavsavsavs]

Wish him some sustained help, got his cup and played way above expectations for the Avs. Funny seeing some Dallas fans in here throw shade.

 

[francis246]

Dude just can't get out of his own way.

He’s got an addiction clearly, it’s a disease, you can’t just stop on a dime. Even if you want to stop it can just consume you

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Holy

 

[bleedgreen]

As I said, too many pats on the back and they'll burn you. I know. Zero empathy here, especially when we're dealing with millionaires. Just go deal with your problems. The rest of us have to.

Addiction hits all classes.

 

[poobags]

Kuznetsov was caught doing coke and he got three games. Something tells me this was worse.

Kuznetsov was not in the player assistance program when that happened so the consequences could be different. I imagine the program has some more documents to sign.

 

[Canadienna]

Kuznetsov was caught doing coke and he got three games. Something tells me this was worse.

It's likely that it was a stipulation of his return to play from his previous two player assistance entries in the last year.

 

[GordonGraham]

He should just go to the KHL where they will let him take whatever he wants

 

[peconcan]

Ruzicka had his contract terminated by the Coyotes after his Instagram story shown some coke in it.

That was just plain stupidity tho. It’s one thing to keep it to yourself/friends at a party but posting it on your story for the world to see when you’re supposed to be a role model is a whole other thing