Nichushkin's tally of 10 points in nine games during the playoffs made him one of the most important player on the Avs roster. Unfortunately, he couldn't help his team when it need him the most, after he failed a drug test and had to go back in the NHL's Player Assistance Program.
Chris MacFarland, general manager of the Avalanche, talked about what would happen to the player going forward.
Buying out his contract doesn't seem like a strategic move to do for the Avs, who'll lose a lot of cap space if they go in that direction. As MacFarland said, terminating his contract isn't an option. That leaves them the option of trading him, probably not for an interesting return, or keeping him.
Nichushkin's suspension ends in November. By then, he should be able to rebuild the team's trust, but he'll need to take concrete actions to redeem himself.
