Valeri Nichushkin placed in NHLPA assistance program stage 3 - suspended without pay for min. 6 months

[Regal]

I'm sorry, I'm quite possibly mistaken. In a thread about Nichushkin, who exactly were you referring to?

Regardless, your opinion on T&S's of contract employment still is in stark contract to the reality.

I hear you, it's bullshit, and I agree with you honestly. So he does some blow. So what? It's not fair. But I regularly p*ss in a cup and blow in a tube for work. And my job has literally hundreds of lives hanging in the balance, daily. Going by the argument of "fairness", they should make what I make and I should make what they make. That would be more "fair". But it is what it is. We all sign on the line, we know what's required of us to cash the check. Some of us uphold our end of the bargain. Forgive me if I hold Nichushkin to the same standard I hold myself despite making 10% of what he does.

In a thread this long, a lot of offshoot conversations start. As I said, it was about general drug testing for employment beyond the NHL, which is mostly BS and seems a lot more prominent in the States, because it is mostly illegal in Canada.

 

[NorthStar4Canes]

You spoke to everyone did you huh?

I can read, and nobody in the discussion has suggested what you've tried to imply some are suggesting. In fact, there is no logical pathway between what's been written by anyone and what you've dreamt up, not even a twisted one where amazing feats of mental parkour could find a way.

Disassociation plays a large role in Stoner Logic. It's kinda funny until the committed users, burnouts, potheads, etc attempt to be taken seriously in reasonable discussions, at which point the absurdity of it all becomes hilarious.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

If I'm the Avs, I immediately trade Nuke as soon as he's back next year. No team wants a player like him with that kind of baggage. Twice now he's let his team down. The Avs are cooked now for this playoffs.

 

[notsocommonsense]

Avs players saying the right things publicly bit internally must be simply irate with Nichushkin. Two years in a row he’s completely let his teammates down at the most critical time of the season.

These guys only have a small window to make the most of their winning opportunities. The players I’m sure are furious.

Nuke screwed up last year, the team welcomed him back he rewarded them by doing it again. Both times at critical points of the year.

Add to this that the issue last year involved a prostitute so inebriated in his room that the team doctor had to call for medical aid and, eventually police, I don’t really see a lot of reason for sympathy at this point.

 

[TheOne]

You kinda come across as a dick here bud.

Most of those things mentioned are correlated with one another. A person who LEGALLy drinks or smokes is prone to higher blood pressure and chances of cancer etc etc. But that's legal. Some people who never drink or smoke have that same curse.

Addiction is a complex matter that has a lot of moving parts. If you are a saint then good for you, take the W in life and move on. Not everyone walks in your shoes. A message board about hockey is hardly a place to shit on people who are dealing with addiction or have had loved ones go through it. You are missing the mark badly here on a thing called empathy. Then to turn it into an attack on someone's "intellect"? Maybe that person has more experience in that area than you? Again you sound like a dick. Just take your porcelain life as a W and not comment if thats the case. There are a lot of people her relating to how hard this situation is whether it be personal or through friends and family. Shitting on that accomplishes nothing positive.

Read and heard, and apologies for a dickish response. I try to be above such trolling behavior

I'm simply frustrated at multiple users here who think their wold view should be reality, instead of the other way around. I do indeed sympathize and empathize with addiction, despite what my comments apparently come across as. I'm trying to make my opinion (equally as dog water as those I'm interacting with) known that just because you think something is unfair doesn't absolve the guilty party from reniging. My frustration compounds when users make beyond absurd claims that someone who uses coke is on the same page as someone with cancer. I feel that they should wear the same insensitive goat horns that apparently I wear, because anyone that's ever dealt with cancer would agree with me: thems fightin' words.

And as dickish as I might come across, I'll state again, as I have in multiple times this thread: I'm DOT regulated. I'm p*ss tested, I'm breathalized, and I knew this when I applied because I was told this when I applied. Sign on the line or don't (see above statement about having compassion for addicts).

I don't want this thread to get locked for toxic posting. What I do want is for users to acknowledge reality, responsibility, and employment requirements, no matter how fair or unfair they think they are when they voluntarily agree to them.

Again, if any user feels like I'm a dick, or feels personally attacked, I profoundly apologize, because that's not my intent. I'm just trying to get you to give your head a shake.

 

[Kranix]

This guy is a loser. If I'm MacKinnon I am really upset.

He has millions of dollars and his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. He seems more like a winner.

 

[joestevens29]

If I'm the Avs, I immediately trade Nuke as soon as he's back next year. No team wants a player like him with that kind of baggage. Twice now he's let his team down. The Avs are cooked now for this playoffs.

Tough to say. I think there are teams out there that would give him a fresh start.

Problem being what contender can afford to lock up that much cap space on a guy that could burn you at the wrong time? With his NMC is he actually going to be willing to go to a non-contender, so that's a roadblock?

I don't think the length of the contract is much of an issue for any team taking him, as he fails again and I think he's at Brant Myhers territory and banned from the NHL. But for a contender to take him on and if he fails after the trade deadline or into the playoffs again and it's a massive blow to the club

 

[LOFIN]

Avs players saying the right things publicly bit internally must be simply irate with Nichushkin. Two years in a row he’s completely let his teammates down at the most critical time of the season.

The tone is very different from last year however:

 

[Mike C]

ah yes, that Meth was just sitting there and I couldn't help myself

Even worse--it wasn't sitting there and I desperately did what ever I needed to go find it knowing somebody better stop me or I'm gonna die

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Reminds me of Bryan Fogarty. Amazing talent that simply couldn't stop blocking his own shots.

Everyone, regardless of ability, has a runway that eventually stops.

 

[Oilslick941611]

So knowingly letting someone who used performance enhancing drugs remain in the HHOF is ok but Nichushkin should be banned from hockey,

got it.

It was on the people at the time of the induction/cups to judge him. The oilers of the 80s and cocaine was no secret.

Just because one was missed doesn't give a pass for future transgressions.

 

[Mike C]

ohhhh right right, cause all those kids that die from pediatric cancer every year opted into dying before they even hit puberty

TOTALLY the same as degens snorting powder to "have a good time" without thinking of the consequences

That's the great debate. I didn't wake up one day and say "hey I think I want to be an alcoholic". It starts out with a good time mentality and for those addicted, it becomes a grueling, destructive hopeless way of life. Some get help and recover. Many die.

 

[Mike C]

That’s not true

You think not, I think yes... for me it is true. I've helped many people get and stay sober and have seen tons more fail. It's a complex issue and misunderstood by many which is fine

I just know from my own journey that it's not as simple for most addicts to just decide to stop and just stop

Yes it can be done and yes there is work involved but it's not as easy as some may think

 

[flying squirrel]

Hope dude gets help he needs. Any game is secondary when it comes to real life situations like this. Sure it stinks for Ave's to lose a top playoff scorer, but it happens. Takes a bunch going right to win "Cup", but doesn't take as much to ruin someone's life. Feel for Nichushkin concerning addiction. But..... last years situation with girl in room is very shady though. Plus, seems Ave organization helped brush some of that dirt under rug. Who knows what really happened there, but sadly, teams will protect player(s) who produced. Guess once player is on bad radar, there's only so many strikes one can get before the axe falls.

 

[Mike C]

you may lose the power of choice after you start and are addicted, but you absolutely BECOME addicted by making a poor choice that first time.

Having a casual beer in college not knowing that alcoholism ran in my family certainly contributed to me becoming addicted but I don't feel I chose into that. One you know, I agree that your choices play into the continuation but unless and until you know, you are in a rabbit hole not understanding how you got there and what to do to get out

Yes

i don't really care about hall of fames. i do think it's important for the game to put in measures to safeguard the game from becoming so affected that young players coming in need to be on something to compete.


the baseball player?

Yes

 

[Mike C]

I’m not talking about Nichushkin’s situation. Convo went in a different direction



There are lots of people who do recreational drugs and don’t come to work high just as there’s lots of people who get hammered on the weekend and don’t come to work drunk. Nichushkin obviously has a problem and is a different situation, but drug tests for basic hiring is pretty ridiculous in most work environments

I respect your thoughts and disagree. I feel drug tests, background checks, etc are a important guardrails and measuring sticks for who a company has in their employ

 

[Sniper99]

A little dramatic here

Says the guy who thinks 1 player's personal issue has "derailed" his TEAM playoff run. Or maybe its just that Dallas is playing way better the past 3 days.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Hence why I bring up Grant Fuhr. The guy is in the Hockey Hall of Fame even though he admitted he was routinely coked up while he played.

People want Nichushkin banned from hockey for substance abuse but don't seem to have a problem with Grant Fuhr in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Its very hypocritical.

Nichushkin needs help and needs to get sober but still should have the right to play hockey.

You have the right to play it wherever you want, you don’t have the right to specifically play for a team that’s paying you millions of dollars on a contract with strictly laid out behaviour clauses. No one’s stopping Val from dominating at the ODR.

 

[MikeK]

Really hope he gets the help he needs. But holly hell this is just crazy. Talk about letting the entire team down.

 

[Charlie McAdaddy]

It's a shame. With 9 g in 8 games he was really ridin' high.

 

[TooManyHumans]

It seems he's an addict. Addicts don't have the ability to just stop because they want to. I've seen this is my own family. They know it isn't going to make them feel better but they simply can't stop anyway. I hope he gets the help he seems to need. He will likely fail to get this under control repeatedly. Hopefully people don't give up on him and he doesn't give up on himself and keeps picking himself back up and trying again. It's all that can be done until it hopefully sticks at some point.

 

[Cas]

All the people who think Nichushkin should be banned from Hockey can't seem to answer whether or not Grant Fuhr should be removed from the Hockey Hall of Fame for admitting to being coked up while playing hockey.


Fuhr is in the HHOF even though he was on drugs while he played.
Nichushkin should be banned from hockey because he has a substance abuse problem.

No one who wants Nichushkin banned can't seem to see the hypocrisy and refuse to admit it.

Because your point is a bunch of whataboutist nonsense.

 

[MikeK]

It seems he's an addict. Addicts don't have the ability to just stop because they want to. I've seen this is my own family. They know it isn't going to make them feel better but they simply can't stop anyway. I hope he gets the help he seems to need. He will likely fail to get this under control repeatedly. Hopefully people don't give up on him and he doesn't give up on himself and keeps picking himself back up and trying again. It's all that can be done until it hopefully sticks at some point.

If he is in fact an addict the odds are not good. You need an incredible strong support system and even that isn't enough. His career in the NHL is the least of his concerns if his issues are that deeply rooted. Sometimes it takes a complete reset of your life and removing all those associations along with it. Hockey could be one of those. His path forward will be long and difficult. I would not be surprised at all if he isn't seen for a long time.

 

[Norwegianoiler]

It's a shame. With 9 g in 8 games he was really ridin' high.

True, with 9 grams you can usually ride pretty high.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

So knowingly letting someone who used performance enhancing drugs remain in the HHOF is ok but Nichushkin should be banned from hockey,

got it.

Did you just call cocaine a Performance Enhancer...?

I like how all your posts are saying everything is hunky dory when his team literally didn't know where he was right before a playoff game last year that he wound up missing because of this problem.

Sounds like a liability waiting to happen again