Avalanche Cap Crunch Makes Valeri Nichushkin a Trade Candidate and the Numbers Are Brutal

The Colorado Avalanche have a cap problem. And it might force them to do something they never wanted to even think about: move Valeri Nichushkin.

Elliotte Friedman dropped the news on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. Nichushkin’s name is coming up in trade conversations as the Avalanche front office looks for ways to reshape the roster before 2026-27. Nothing is imminent. But the fact that it’s even a discussion says a lot about where this team is financially.

Let’s talk numbers, because they’re rough. According to PuckPedia, Colorado has just over $6 million in cap space for next season. They also only have four defensemen under contract. Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, Jack Ahcan and Nick Blankenburg are all headed to free agency on July 1. That means the front office has to find money somewhere.

Moving Nichushkin would free up a lot of it. He carries a $6.125 million cap hit through 2029-30. That’s a big chunk of change for a team that needs to fill out an entire blue line.

There’s a catch though. Nichushkin has a limited no-trade clause. So Colorado can’t just ship him anywhere. But they’d still have a decent list of potential partners if they decide to go that route.

The health problem nobody can ignore

Nichushkin has missed a ton of games. From the start of 2021-22 through the end of 2024-25, he played in just 212 regular season games. That’s a lot of time on the shelf for a guy making over $6 million a year.

But when he’s healthy, he’s legitimately good. Like top-line good. During that same stretch he put up 91 goals and 186 points. He plays a strong two-way game and has the size that contenders want in a top-six winger.

Here’s where it gets weird though. The healthiest season of his Avalanche career was also one of his least productive offensively. He played 72 games in 2025-26 and finished with just 17 goals and 49 points. That’s well below the pace he had set over the previous few seasons. His role shrunk as the year went on. And in the playoffs he managed only four points in 12 games.

That’s not what you want from a guy making that kind of money.

What makes him valuable anyway

For a team that needs a proven veteran with playoff experience, Nichushkin still has appeal. He’s 31 years old. He’s a big body who can play in the dirty areas. He kills penalties and he doesn’t make a lot of dumb mistakes.

Teams looking to make a deep run might talk themselves into him. Especially if Colorado is willing to eat some of the cap hit or take back a smaller contract.

Right now the Avalanche aren’t aggressively shopping him. But they’re listening. And that alone is a big deal for a player who has been a core piece of this team for years. The cap is the cap. And sometimes it forces you to make a move you’d rather not make.