Valeri Nichushkin is headed from the Colorado Avalanche to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 25, 2026. Colorado gets a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick back in a deal that changes both clubs’ draft boards before the 2026 NHL Draft.
The move also clears the books on a winger signed through the 2029-30 season at a $6.125MM salary. Nichushkin turns 31 with 131 goals and 283 points in 404 games for Colorado, plus 27 goals and 40 points in 74 postseason games.
Colorado Opens Room
The Avalanche had been looking for more financial flexibility because of looming extensions for Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen. That pressure made Nichushkin easier to move, even after he was part of the 2022 Stanley Cup championship run.
Colorado also gained a cleaner path into the draft. The Avalanche were expected to enter the 2026 NHL Draft with approximately $11MM in cap space and 10 selections after the first round, and this trade adds more picks while trimming a long commitment from the roster.
Blue Jackets Add Nichushkin
For Columbus, the trade brings in a high-paid veteran who once became a fan favorite in Denver and had been a major postseason contributor for Colorado. The Blue Jackets gave up three picks to get him, and that cost leaves them down to only one selection in the top-65 of the weekend's draft.
Nichushkin’s history explains why the move carries both upside and risk. He arrived in Colorado as a non-tendered unrestricted free agent before the 2019-20 season, and he was originally a first-round pick of Dallas Stars in the 2013 NHL Draft. Since the 2021-22 campaign, he has been available for approximately 65% of Colorado's regular-season contests.
Cap Space And Draft Capital
The trade fits Colorado’s push to protect future flexibility as the roster gets more expensive. Cale Makar’s next deal could reach $20MM a season, so moving Nichushkin’s $6.125MM hit changes the numbers before those extensions arrive.
Columbus now has the player, while Colorado has the picks and the breathing room. The open question is whether Nichushkin stays healthy enough to justify what the Blue Jackets paid to get him.
