Aarif Deen
Following a recent Avalanche win at home, Valeri Nichushkin was heading out of the dressing room just as media entered. Before exiting the doors, he turned and walked toward Mackenzie Blackwood’s stall, offered the goalie a handshake and a hug and congratulated him for helping Colorado secure another two points in the standings.
It’s just one of many examples of how Nichushkin and Blackwood have taken a liking to each other. Stall buddies at the practice rink but on opposite sides of the room at Ball Arena, the duo regularly seek each other out postgame to share compliments for their performances.
This isn’t the norm for Nichushkin, the now 30-year-old forward who rarely speaks. In his six seasons in Colorado, Nichushkin is often more quiet and keeps to himself. That was until Blackwood showed up.
The “Valeri Nichushkin Whisperer” broke him out of his shell.
“I started talking when I first got here, and he wanted to talk back, so we just started chatting,” Blackwood told me following Tuesday’s practice.
“He’s a great dude, he’s got quite a lot of interesting stuff to say. I like listening, and we just bonded over things, just randomly.”
Nichushkin rarely, if ever, talks to media. Even after games where he’s the First Star or scores a hat trick. If he’s got any bit of personality with his teammates, he’ll keep that to a bare minimum when media is around — when the cameras and audio recorders are present.
But things are different with Blackwood. One-on-one interviews with other players are often disrupted by Nichushkin shouting across the room to his new friend. They often hype each other up and are openly laughing and joking with each other after wins.
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At the practice rink, goalies usually take the longest to get their equipment off. Nichushkin has had a habit of being one of the first to leave the room. But when Blackwood is sitting back, taking his time getting his pads off, Nichushkin stays put in his stall next to him and the two converse with each other.
“When you get him to talk to you, he’s got a lot to say,” Blackwood said with a grin. “Without getting into specifics, he’s a guy that I just like to talk to and I like to be around.”
Nichushkin has had a troubled past with the Avs. Coming off the 2022 Stanley Cup championship, things haven’t gotten as well for him in either of the last two playoff runs. His teammates who took part in that series with Tampa Bay three years ago often refer to him as the best player in those six games.
He even ended the 2022 playoffs as one of the five skaters on the ice defending a 2-1 lead to help Colorado secure a championship in Game 6.
But since then, Nichushkin hasn’t been around for the final playoff game in 2023 or 2024.
Two years ago, in a first-round playoff series against the Seattle Kraken, Nichushkin was suddenly escorted out of the team hotel with security, with only an explanation that it was for personal reasons. This happened after local police responded to a crisis call at the Four Seasons hotel just hours before puck drop.
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Colorado won that night but went on to lose the series in seven. Nichushkin didn’t play in any of the last five games.
He returned the following season, abruptly departing the team again in the spring. Nichushkin was placed in Stage 3 of the NHLPA Player Assistance Program and suspended for six months ahead of Game 4 in a second-round series against the Dallas Stars.
Colorado lost the game and eventually the series in six games.
Blackwood didn’t shy away from talking to his friend about the incidents. But only because Nichushkin, who his teammates say is in a better place now, has no issue discussing his past.
“Everyone’s probably heard the stories of what happened so that’s not new news to me. But when I came here, I just started talking to him because I believe you should form your own opinion about someone,” Blackwood said.
Nichushkin must’ve made a good impression.
“When I met him, I was like, ‘this guy’s a great guy, good human being, he’s got a good heart.’ He’s obviously made mistakes, but if you get to know him, he’s an awesome guy,” Blackwood said.
“I mean, you wouldn’t ever know those sort of things happened. He’s very open about it too, I’ve talked to him and asked and he’s very open and willing to share. So, I mean, I feel like that’s good for him, right?”
In the series before Nichushkin departed, he was again the Avs’ best skater, recording seven goals and a hat trick in a dominating five-game series victory over Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets.
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In the last two series Nichushkin completed, he was a dominant force. The two he didn’t, Colorado was eliminated. Considering he’s in a better place now, Blackwood, who joined the team in December, is ready to get a front row seat to the “Val Nichushkin Experience.”
“Oh yeah, I know it’s gonna be exciting to watch him. He’s a horse, he’s incredible, he’s a competitor, and he’s one of our best players,” Blackwood said. “We need him, and he knows that.”
When the Avalanche had their annual charity brunch last month, Nichushkin and Blackwood took the stage together.
It’s yet another example of the suddenly inseparable teammates making the most of their new friendship.
“I don’t know how that came about, but I wasn’t mad about it. He’s pretty good, all the stuff we did with the kid, Val was the mastermind behind it with the fun ideas,” Blackwood said. “I don’t really know whose idea it was for us to go out together, but it was a great day.”
Blackwood signed a five-year contract extension a few weeks after the Avalanche acquired him from the San Jose Sharks. The deal starts next year and runs through the 2029-2030 season. Like Nichushkin did with him, Blackwood must’ve made a good first impression with the organization.
Only three other roster players are currently locked up for that long. Nichushkin is among them, as his contract also expires in 2030.
It’s safe to say the five-month-long friendship has years to build on.
If all goes well, they might celebrate a Stanley Cup championship together. Could you imagine the compliments they’d be able to dish out to each other from across the room if they got there?