I think he makes a valid point, although I overall disagree. The guy is super talented and plays great when he actually is on the ice; I don’t think it was reasonable to think that he was going to miss so much of 2023/24 and certainly not have another playoff bomb. He generated a ton of points when he was on the ice this season as a formidable offensive weapon and made several good defensive plays as well. To be clear, I count myself in that group of fans who would prefer to not see him wearing an Avalanche jersey again, but I don’t think his contract was a bad idea.
Tylerpants80
r/titlegore
Sackroy1933
Mile High Hockey isn’t worth being printed on toilet paper, though
If he comes back and kills it, returning to that level in the 2025 playoffs and beyond and helping in a second cup, all can be forgotten.
If he can’t, there will always be that what if
Avs4life16
good idea just hasn’t worked entirely the way it should. we know the level of play he can bring and he fits amazing in our system. How ever you slice it tho you don’t replace top 6 forwards when they go out of the lineup. Us missing two has not shown us down in getting into the playoffs but we missed it dearly in the playoffs.
stoneman9284
I mean I’ve been saying it was a bad idea since the day he signed it. But even us nay-sayers couldn’t have foreseen it being *this* bad.
NahdiraZidea
Hindsight is what it is, but giving Kadri the same contract would have been much better.
InflamesGmbH
Obviously you’re going to get a ton of opinions on this and the whole point of the article is to get views so, mission accomplished.
This article misses the mark on a few things (obviously my opinion) the author states themselves about recency bias and hedges in both directions. Here’s the fact of the matter: since the cup run, Nichuskin is an absolute monster, it is not reasonable to use prior seasons as a reference (prior to his big contract) fact is, when he’s good, he is great, elite forward that is a game changer for our offense. But he is plagued by personal problems that have made all fans question if he’s actually good – it’s not a matter of whether or not he’s talented, he is, period. So using prior seasons as a reference was an issue for me with this but I see the argument just didn’t hit.
As for focusing on goaltending, Darcy was excellent, agree with this that he took heat for really little reason retrospectively. But I think the article fails to recognize that by signing Nuke we let a GREAT 2C walk (Kadri). Can’t tell the future. Maybe we re sign Kadri and he plays terrible and we don’t get the value. Goaltending with our management hasn’t been a priority for years. I think focusing on the other glaring hole in our roster until end of last season would have been more convincing.
Love the discussion pieces like this bring though. Go Avs
Chico-or-Aristotle
Stupid hindsight take. Need Val to get his act together. He is arguably the 3rd most important player on Avs. Fact is they just don’t win when he isn’t in the lineup.
Colavs9601
One person at mile high hockey thinks that.
adalaza
didn’t we ban them?
Cogsyyyy
What a dumb take. The Avs aren’t even a real cup contender without Val. He was instrumental in winning it all in 2022 and when he is healthy is literally one of the most impactful players in the game. Any team in the league would have backed up the brinks truck to pay him with term.
12 Comments
I think he makes a valid point, although I overall disagree. The guy is super talented and plays great when he actually is on the ice; I don’t think it was reasonable to think that he was going to miss so much of 2023/24 and certainly not have another playoff bomb. He generated a ton of points when he was on the ice this season as a formidable offensive weapon and made several good defensive plays as well. To be clear, I count myself in that group of fans who would prefer to not see him wearing an Avalanche jersey again, but I don’t think his contract was a bad idea.
r/titlegore
Mile High Hockey isn’t worth being printed on toilet paper, though
Hindsight is 20-20. Val’s contract at the time was 100% necessary, he was an [absolute monster](https://youtu.be/m_jyjDSHLGU?si=ufwipslvOn401gTl)
all playoffs and especially in the finals.
If he comes back and kills it, returning to that level in the 2025 playoffs and beyond and helping in a second cup, all can be forgotten.
If he can’t, there will always be that what if
good idea just hasn’t worked entirely the way it should. we know the level of play he can bring and he fits amazing in our system. How ever you slice it tho you don’t replace top 6 forwards when they go out of the lineup. Us missing two has not shown us down in getting into the playoffs but we missed it dearly in the playoffs.
I mean I’ve been saying it was a bad idea since the day he signed it. But even us nay-sayers couldn’t have foreseen it being *this* bad.
Hindsight is what it is, but giving Kadri the same contract would have been much better.
Obviously you’re going to get a ton of opinions on this and the whole point of the article is to get views so, mission accomplished.
This article misses the mark on a few things (obviously my opinion) the author states themselves about recency bias and hedges in both directions. Here’s the fact of the matter: since the cup run, Nichuskin is an absolute monster, it is not reasonable to use prior seasons as a reference (prior to his big contract) fact is, when he’s good, he is great, elite forward that is a game changer for our offense. But he is plagued by personal problems that have made all fans question if he’s actually good – it’s not a matter of whether or not he’s talented, he is, period. So using prior seasons as a reference was an issue for me with this but I see the argument just didn’t hit.
As for focusing on goaltending, Darcy was excellent, agree with this that he took heat for really little reason retrospectively. But I think the article fails to recognize that by signing Nuke we let a GREAT 2C walk (Kadri). Can’t tell the future. Maybe we re sign Kadri and he plays terrible and we don’t get the value. Goaltending with our management hasn’t been a priority for years. I think focusing on the other glaring hole in our roster until end of last season would have been more convincing.
Love the discussion pieces like this bring though. Go Avs
Stupid hindsight take. Need Val to get his act together. He is arguably the 3rd most important player on Avs. Fact is they just don’t win when he isn’t in the lineup.
One person at mile high hockey thinks that.
didn’t we ban them?
What a dumb take. The Avs aren’t even a real cup contender without Val. He was instrumental in winning it all in 2022 and when he is healthy is literally one of the most impactful players in the game. Any team in the league would have backed up the brinks truck to pay him with term.