The Colorado Avalanche traded longtime winger Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, continuing to reshape their roster after a playoff disappointment.
The Avalanche acquired a 2026 second-round pick (43rd overall, from St. Louis via Pittsburgh), as well as Columbus’s 2027 third-round pick and 2029 fifth-round pick for the 31-year-old winger.
Nichushkin is signed through 2030 with a $6.125 million cap hit. He had 17 goals and 32 assists in 72 games last season, followed by two goals and two assists in 12 playoff games. In seven seasons with the Avalanche, he had 283 points in 404 games and had a dominant 15 points in 20 playoff games during their run to winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Colorado signed him as a free agent in 2019 after four seasons with the Dallas Stars, who drafted him 10th overall in 2013.
“Valeri is a big, strong forward who skates exceptionally well, can score goals, win puck battles and doesn’t shy away from playing in the hard areas,” said Columbus GM Don Waddell. “He is an accomplished two-way player who competes at a high level, and we are very excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family.”
It’s the third move this week for new Colorado general manager Joe Sakic, who took on that role for the second time after Chris MacFarland left to run the Nashville Predators. Sakic and MacFarland made those previous two trades, as Colorado sent centers Ross Colton and Jack Drury to the Predators. Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy for having the NHL’s best record, but their playoff run was stopped in the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Waddell had made it a priority to bolster the Blue Jackets’ scoring by adding a forward to their top nine this offseason. The Jackets finished 19th in the NHL with three goals per game on average last season, missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season.
The pressure is on Columbus to significantly improve its roster. Rumors abound in the NHL about Norris Trophy winning defenseman Zach Werenski potentially becoming the next star player to inform his team that he won’t be re-signing with two years left on his contract. Werenski, who won a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics, is an unrestricted free agent in 2028 after making $9,583,333 against the salary cap on his current deal.
“There are some matters we’re dealing with that should probably stay internal. We’ve had conversations with his agent but there’s been no definitive plan for sure,” Waddell said Thursday. “We want to see where he’s at and take it from there.”