The Colorado Avalanche have signed 24-year-old winger Valeri Nichushkin to a one-year NHL contract for the upcoming 2019-20 season. Nichushkin was the 10th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, but failed to get his career going after two stints with the Dallas Stars. The Russian has had a very successful KHL career, but seems determined to make a life in North America work.
A one-year deal for the right winger.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/rwzWfFBFo7
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 19, 2019
The deal with the Avalanche has been confirmed to be $850k in both the NHL and AHL. Nichushkin would require waivers to be sent to the AHL Colorado Eagles, but his contract would be fully buried and the team would not incur a cap hit to send him down. Nichushkin was bought out by the Stars on June 29th, a few days before he was set to become an RFA but became a UFA instead until the Avalanche signed him.
The financial terms of the Nichushkin deal are one-way for $850k, the team has confirmed.
— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) August 19, 2019
Nichushkin has skill but has never been able to put it together in the NHL. He’s had trouble adapting to both coaches he played for (Lindy Ruff and Jim Montgomery). Both are considered defensively-minded coaches and it seems Nichushkin could never figure out the system. Jared Bednar is a little more freeing as a coach on forwards, so hopefully that combination works well for the two sides.
In the press release, GM Joe Sakic made it fairly clear that Nichushkin is going to be part of the fight to earn an NHL job in training camp. There are a handful of other players already in the organization (both older and younger) who will be fighting for the same spots.
“Valeri is a big, young winger who adds depth to our roster and brings competition to our training camp,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President / General Manager Joe Sakic. “He brings NHL experience to our team and we are excited to have him with our organization.”
From his time in Dallas, Nichushkin turned himself into a very low-event player. That meant he didn’t give up much defensively, but neither did he score anything offensively (he had zero goals last year). I think with a higher event system in the bottom six like the Avalanche have he could provide some positive results.
This is a training camp bet, low risk, medium reward.