Colorado Avalanche president and GM Joe Sakic had to make a tough decision on Thursday.
He traded forward Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets for three draft picks, including a second-rounder this year. The Avs will make that pick tomorrow on the second day of the NHL Draft.
And on Friday, Sakic met with the media and discussed trading Nichushkin. He was a star for the Avalanche in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, but then left the team during the 2023 postseason and was suspended for six months during the 2024 playoffs.
Joe Sakic was asked about Nichushkin’s complicated legacy in Colorado and did nothing but praise him on the way out the door. He also explained why the Avalanche needed to make the trade.
“Yeah, we wanted to get the assets for Val. I mean, it’s tough losing guys and having to deal players that you’re so fond of. He’s just a tremendous guy. We don’t win the Cup in ’22 without him playing as well as he did. That team was on fire and he was at another level,” Joe Sakic said.
In that playoff run, Nichushkin scored nine goals and added six assists in 20 games. Many thought he could’ve won the Conn Smythe, which instead went to superstar Cale Makar.
Still, an incident in Seattle the following year hurt his legacy with the Avs. As did the suspension in 2024. Sakic addressed that but is also thrilled to see the progress Nichushkin has made.
“Yeah, he had some personal issues that he overcame and I’m proud of him for that. He’s a different man, he’s just a great, great human being,” Joe Sakic said. “It was a tough phone call to make to Val for the great things he’s done for our organization.”
Sakic has now traded Nichushkin, Ross Colton and Jack Drury to free up salary cap space. He’s used about half of that $11 million on Friday to re-sign defensemen Brett Kulak and Brent Burns.
“Those decision for us were really cap decisions, freeing up some space. We couldn’t have brought everyone back… we just had to do things to free up cap space while accumulating draft capital, which hopefully tomorrow can get some good draft prospects in our system,” Sakic said.
It’s officially the end of an era with Nichushkin moving to the Blue Jackets. But despite some fans having hard feelings about his ice-off transgressions, Joe Sakic took the high road.
You’d expect nothing less from the most iconic figure in franchise history.