Valeri Nichushkin is one of two giant wildcards for the Avalanche’s upcoming season.

While the other, Gabriel Landeskog, has met with the media recently, Nichushkin has not made any public comments. At least not yet.

We know for certain that Nichushkin will miss at least the first 16 games before he’s eligible to be reinstated on Nov. 13. And even then, it’s unclear if the league will allow him to return right away.

In his past stint with the Player Assistance Program, Nichushkin needed clearance to begin practicing before being cleared to return to play. I’m curious if Nov. 13 — the six-month anniversary of his suspension — will be the first day he’s eligible to practice. Or perhaps he’ll get that clearance weeks in advance. The next few months will likely determine that.

@mrdeeds23 asks: What the hell is going on with Nichushkin?

It’s the status quo right now for Nichushkin. I’m hopeful we’ll get a notable update when camp starts and again as we inch closer to Nov. 13. Right now, the only updates we’re getting are from scouts, coaches and managers in the KHL (shout out to CHN’s Evan Rawal for being on top of this).

But in my estimation, no news is good news, seeing how Evgeny Kuznetsov just walked away from a year remaining on his NHL contract to sign in the KHL. When that deal was announced, I wondered if Nichushkin would do the same – and if there was a KHL team out there willing to give him a contract enticing enough to walk away from more than $36 million in guaranteed salary.

We do know that at least one team has reached out to him and was told that his focus is to return to the Avs.

It’s hard to say what steps need to be taken for him to be welcomed back into the Avs’ room. But most of those steps will likely be handled privately. There was a recent update from a former KHL scout stating that Nathan MacKinnon has been in contact with Nichushkin on a weekly basis. So take that for what it’s worth, if it’s even accurate.

@wastedtalen34 asks: Does Nuke get a 4th chance with the Avs or is he traded immediately upon reinstatement?

As long as he does what he needs to do to get reinstated, I firmly believe the Avs give him another chance. This means he has to cooperate. Whatever rules he’s breaking to continuously get sent back to the NHL Player Assistance Program has to stop. And of course, he has to continue to ignore the offers coming from the KHL.

The reality of this entire saga is that the Avalanche need Nichushkin. Players like him aren’t something you could just trade for. As terrible as it might sound, this era of Avs hockey, and the Chris MacFarland era as general manager, will probably be defined by Nichushkin and if he’s able to make a successful comeback.

As much as it would be great to find a way to get rid of his contract and cap hit to go shopping elsewhere, unfortunately, whatever the team shops for isn’t going to replace what Nichushkin brings. He is at the height of his powers and his performance in 2023-24 was the best hockey I’ve ever seen him play.

This core hitched its wagon to Nichushkin following the Stanley Cup. He earned that contract. This team needs Nichushkin. It’s up to him to also understand that he needs this team. If he can do that, and continue to be great at hockey, the guys in the room will probably forgive him.

So yes, I do believe he’ll get another chance if he’s reinstated.

@somewhereinbetween asks: What is your take on the latest part of the interview that Val did before the playoffs that just came out?

Without diving into every little part of the interview (because that’s an entire article in itself), I’ll say this: Whatever happened in Seattle, the team did about as bad a PR job as possible in how they handled it. And I’m glad Nichushkin admitted as much (if he’s to be believed about how he recounts the events leading up to his absence).

Having Jared Bednar come out every day during the 2023 playoffs and say Nichushkin is gone for “personal reasons” was wrong. Having the team fail to give us any info leading up to puck drop for Game 3 was also wrong. This story ultimately came to light because of a very cryptic DM I and other media members – most notably Evan Rawal – received at the start of Game 3 in Seattle.

They could’ve eliminated an entire offseason of rumors by just coming out and explaining the situation.