Avalanche sign Valeri Nichushkin to massive contract extension

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Dorin Canaday
July 11, 2022 (6:49 PM)

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The Colorado Avalanche signed Valeri Nichushkin to a contract extension, and the power forward received quite a substantial pay raise.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first to report Nichushkin's well-deserved extension:

"Hearing that the Cup champion Avalanche have agreed to an 8-year extension with Valeri Nichushkin."

It has been confirmed that Nichushkin and the Avalanche agreed to an eight-year, $49 million contract, with an AAV of $6.125 million.

This comes after a career year in goals (25), assists (27) and points (52). That was followed up by a stellar 2022 postseason that included 9 goals and 6 assists in 20 games on the way to a Stanley Cup championship.

Nichushkin is a pretty cool story, as he was bought out by the Dallas Stars three years ago after not scoring a single goal through 57 games during the 2018-19 NHL season.

The Avalanche took a chance on the Russian and signed him to a one-year, $850 thousand contract in August 2019, and it's safe to say that risk paid off for the club.