(Denver) Valeri Nichushkin has left the NHL Player Assistance Program and been given the green light to return to action with the Colorado Avalanche.
The Players’ Association and the league announced Monday that Nichushkin is now being monitored. He has still not received the green light to participate in his team’s matches.
The 28-year-old Russian joined the player assistance program around mid-January. He is the second Avalanche player to undergo it this season, after Quebecer Samuel Girard, who resumed his sporting activities almost five weeks after joining the program.
Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine remain part of the player assistance program.
Nichushkin has scored 22 goals and collected 20 assists in 40 games this season. He only needs two games to reach the 500 mark in his career in the Bettman circuit.
Nichushkin sat out the Avalanche’s playoff run last spring for personal reasons. He missed five playoff games for his team, which lost to the Seattle Kraken in the first playoff round in the Western Conference.
In September, Nichushkin refused to answer questions regarding his absence from the playoffs. He said he and the team jointly agreed it was best for him to miss the remainder of the series against the Kraken. The Avalanche lost in seven games.