You’re right: Val Nichushkin doesn’t owe the scribes anything. It’s his life. It’s his $49 million. It’s his name on the Stanley Cup.
Look, we’ll be honest. The kids on the Grading The Week staff have got some trust issues with you, Chu Chu Train. And do you blame us? Seattle left a scar.
Family reasons? Fair enough. But even if nothing untoward happened in that hotel, everything during and after the big Avs forward’s sudden departure from the team last spring during a hotly-contested first-round playoff series with the Kraken was so nuclear, and so hush-hush, that it led the public, and reporters, to presume — and to assume — the worst.
Regardless of the how and why, the “what” was clear as day: One of the best players to wear Burgundy and Blue was mysteriously unavailable for the defending Stanley Cup champs in a dog-eat-dog playoff fight.
Which explains why, when we polled the GTW crew this week, even though most said they were willing to forgive Nuke, not one was willing to forget.
The Avs and “trust” — D.
That said, we’ll give credit where it’s due. Val loves kibitzing with the media about as much as Nathan MacKinnon does. But knowing what the No. 1 topic would be, No. 13 addressed it directly, professionally and succinctly, and in a language that isn’t his native one. The music was soft and uncomfortable, but he faced it head-on. And … then … mostly went about trying to change the subject.
Context matters here, too. It wouldn’t hurt so much, Chu, if you weren’t such a big part of a forward unit that never truly replaced Nazem Kadri (free agency) or captain Gabe Landeskog (injury). If the NHL regular season is about your top two lines, then the postseason is about your bottom two, and the Avs had to improvise and hope on the latter front too often for comfort. Consider this, too: In the 47 postseason games in which Nichushkin has appeared with the Burgundy and Blue, the Avs have won 32. In the 16 playoffs games with Colorado in which he registered at least a point, the Avs went on to win 14. In the five games against Seattle without him, Colorado lost three to cap the saddest — and shortest — defense of an Avs Cup-winner in franchise history.
Although bigger eyebrow-raiser from the rostrum over the past few days came from the mouth of MacKinnon himself, who said of his Russian teammate, “(He’s welcomed back) with open arms. We love Val. And I think it’s more than faith. We just know he’s going to be here for us.”
Forgive us for not sharing that faith. Yet.
Radio shakeups — C-
So many, too many juries still out on this one, and frankly our heads are still spinning after 104.3 The Fan celebrated the official end of summer by completely revamping most of its lineup. GTW is rooting for Phil Lindsay to nail this, because he’s an even better dude than he is a tailback. That said, consider us muggles stunned at the departure of Darren McKee, an afternoon fixture, and saddened at the breakup of “Stokley and Zach,” which became a mid-day can’t-miss. Lindsay’s got some big shoes to fill, and we’re more than a little curious why a proven tag-team in Brandon Stokley and Zach Bye weren’t paired together on drive-time this time ’round.
