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

[Regal]

If a player has been in the assistance program multiple times and it's well publicized that there are some sort of issues surrounding the player, I'm sure it was impacting the company (in this case the Avalanche) in some way.

I was talking about the poster’s talk of drug tests for employment. This is a different situation with Nichushkin due to the program and past issues

 

[Panteras]

Damn I thought this was a thread bump from last playoffs.

 

[eartotheground]

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.

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.

check out the stats of lonnie smith 1982

the baseball player?

 

[eartotheground]

addiction is a disease. the power of choice is totally lost. we don't BECOME addicts by stupid choices any more than a cancer patient opts his way into that. addicts are not bad people needing to choose good. we are sick people needing to get better

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.

 

[The Macho King]

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.

Dude find a new angle. You've made the same post like 20 times.

We get it. Fuhr did a lot of coke.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Jack Johnson was a +1 in that game. Makar, MacKinnon and Rantanen were -3 each

JJ's stats don't matter on things like this. hes a member of the team. That's the only qualification needed for him to speak on it.

 

[Guttersniped]

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.

It’s not hypocritical to not want to remove guys from the Hockey Hall of Fame for things they did 30 years ago. Who gives a shit? I don’t. It doesn’t affect any people or organizations now.

If Nichushkin doesn’t actively work hard to sober up he can lose his job. That’s how having jobs with addictions work. He’s lucky enough to have a guaranteed contract and a good union so he isn’t immediately fired for this shit.

Nichushkin can “need help”, but if he doesn’t want it, then there’s a problem.

There’s guys in the players assistance program making genuine efforts to put in the work to get better because they want to change.

Some people don’t want to change, particularly if they have money and aren’t threatened with jail, because they don’t have to change.

If Nichushkin doesn’t do the work here there’s no reason any NHL team should want him in their lockroom.

 

[TheOne]

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



This is a wildly stupid response. 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.

The context of my response was appropriate. You posted:

Just because something happens doesn’t mean it isn’t bullshit. Employers love to overstep and there’s enough idiots who’ve convinced themselves it’s in the interest of “professionalism”. Unless you’re in a situation where you’re presenting the company negatively outside of work hours or what you do affects your performance then it’s none of their business. Anyway, my point is, employers can’t drug test prospective employees in Canada except under limited circumstances, which is a good thing.

You're simply stating your personal opinion about something that you disagree with (which is indeed fair) that is ultimately black and white contract language. It doesn't matter if you agree with it or not, the fact of the matter is he violated the terms of his employment.

Full stop.

Whether or not it's fair or not doesn't matter. He agreed to something and then failed to honor that agreement. His factual contractual situation is irrelevant to your personal beliefs. Reality is ambivalent to your opinion. Hence, you're yelling at clouds.

 

[toddkaz]

It’s not hypocritical to not want to remove guys from the Hockey Hall of Fame for things they did 30 years ago. Who gives a shit? I don’t. It doesn’t affect any people or organizations now.

If Nichushkin doesn’t actively work hard to sober up he can lose his job. That’s how having jobs with addictions work. He’s lucky enough to have a guaranteed contract and good union so he isn’t immediately fired for this shit.

Nichushkin can “need help”, but if he doesn’t want it, then there’s a problem.

There’s guys in the players assistance program making genuine efforts to put in the work to get better because they want to change.

Some people don’t want to change, particularly if they have money and aren’t threatened with jail, because they don’t have to change.

If Nichushkin doesn’t do the work here there’s no reason any NHL team should want him in their lockroom.

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

got it.

 

[Strangle]

addiction is a disease. the power of choice is totally lost. we don't BECOME addicts by stupid choices any more than a cancer patient opts his way into that. addicts are not bad people needing to choose good. we are sick people needing to get better

That’s not true

 

[Regal]

The context of my response was appropriate. You posted:

You're simply stating your personal opinion about something that you disagree with (which is indeed fair) that is ultimately black and white contract language. It doesn't matter if you agree with it or not, the fact of the matter is he violated the terms of his employment.

Full stop.

Whether or not it's fair or not doesn't matter. He agreed to something and then failed to honor that agreement. His factual contractual situation is irrelevant to your personal beliefs. Reality is ambivalent to your opinion. Hence, you're yelling at clouds.

How was it appropriate when I’m not talking about Nichushkin? His situation is different, as you noted.

The conversation started with regard to employers drug testing potential employees in various fields. That was what my responses were about.

 

[tny760]

we don't BECOME addicts by stupid choices any more than a cancer patient opts his way into that.

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

 

[strattonius]

addiction is a disease. the power of choice is totally lost. we don't BECOME addicts by stupid choices any more than a cancer patient opts his way into that. addicts are not bad people needing to choose good. we are sick people needing to get better

This is enabling.

Truth is there is a choice. That choice becomes more and more difficult as the addiction wears on.

I'm not compassionless or naive on the matter. I have been addicted to amphetamines and lost two friends to opioids. At some point you have to get out of denial and admit that a person that is an addict is making a choice.

 

[Oilslick941611]

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.

I don't subscribe to the idea that addicts don't have agency or shouldn't face consequences over their actions, especially after going through multiple stages of assistance programs. I do agree with allowing them leeway to fight their demons, but at some point their issues stop becoming thier own and get downloaded on those around them.

I've worked with people who are alcoholics, addicted to Benzo's and coke. I've been a manager to one of them... it wasn't pretty.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

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

 

[Number8]

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.

 

[Guttersniped]

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

got it.

Yeah, again I can’t stress this enough, I don’t give a shit because it doesn’t affect people or organizations right now.

I mean, I hope Fuhr isn’t struggling with drug addiction now on a personal level but that’s it.

Taking players out of the Hall of Fame is stupid to me and it’s also completely unrelated to what players currently employed in the NHL do right now.

It’s a ridiculous whataboutism that is easily dismissed so you should let people get back to discussing what is actually happening in 2024.

 

[Guttersniped]

addiction is a disease. the power of choice is totally lost. we don't BECOME addicts by stupid choices any more than a cancer patient opts his way into that. addicts are not bad people needing to choose good. we are sick people needing to get better

My mom was just diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer two weeks ago so you can f*** right off with this comparison.

Nichushkin has made plenty of bad choices that contributed to his current situation and he has the power to at least try to get help to save himself.

My mom can’t choose sobriety from cancer.

 

[Frank Drebin]

I wonder if his substance abuse has anything to do with his time/struggles in Dallas

 

[RefalancheStillLose]

addiction is a disease. the power of choice is totally lost. we don't BECOME addicts by stupid choices any more than a cancer patient opts his way into that. addicts are not bad people needing to choose good. we are sick people needing to get better

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

 

[Icarium]

Yes I think if it came out today that the majority of players were coked up on the ice each game, the NHL should try and curb that.

The NHL is not really trying to curb steroid use, let alone coke use.

 

[eartotheground]

The NHL is not really trying to curb steroid use, let alone coke use.

they just suspended a star cup winning player 2 rounds into the playoffs.

they're clearly trying to do something.

 

[Icarium]

they just suspended a star cup winning player 2 rounds into the playoffs.

they're clearly trying to do something.

Only because he was already in an assistance program and thus on thin ice. The average NHLer can dope as much as he wants.

 

[Golden_Jet]

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

got it.

Which players have been admitted into the HHOF, and proven to have used PEDs, and which PEDs did they use.

 

[DJN21]

What a bunch of absolute nonsense. You equating someone with high blood pressure, cancer, etc, to someone who refuses to abstain from illegal activities say so so soooo much about your intellectual honesty.

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.