Valeri Nichushkin doping case dropped

Tuesday morning saw the doping case against Valeri Nichushkin was dropped by the IIHF. The case was brought up from a Nichushkin test administered in 2013 but was re-evaluated in 2019 after the lab in Moscow that ran the test shut down.

It was found in 2019 that testosterone was high in Nichushkin’s sample which then re-opened the case. Recently, another test was run on the sample in Switzerland and the case was then dropped soon after.

The Russian Federation of Hockey (RHF) released a statement, saying “the IIHF informed Nichushkin that all charges against the player have been dropped” and that there would be no following attempts to ban the Russian forward. Nichushkin has been fighting the allegations ever since they were released, after being accused of being part of a Russian-led doping cover-up scheme.

After now signing his new eight-year, $49 million deal with the Colorado Avalanche during the offseason, he has nothing to worry about for the rest of the season moving forward. Nichushkin already has four goals and two assists in three games, and with this monkey off his back, he’ll look to continue his resurgence in Colorado.