Here, the explanations are clear. By doing this, Colorado frees itself from the cap-craze that accompanies trying to build a team around the prospect of having Nichushkin’s $6.125 million cap hit fall into their laps in the middle of November, should he be reinstated after the NHL imposes a mandatory six-month suspension.
Through this transaction, Laine—who is presently enrolled in the Player Assistance Program as well—will receive Nichushkin’s transfer to Columbus. Essentially, there are two players that require a new beginning somewhere else. For the first time in his career, Laine might arrive in Colorado and not be called upon to save the day. He would join Casey Mittelstadt on the second line right away, giving the Avs a formidable top-six forward group.
Laine’s longstanding friendship with fellow Finns Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen is also beneficial. Maybe, like the Avs with Jonathan Drouin last year, having that kind of infrastructure and eliminating the pressure of being The Man will help. The clear distinction in this case is that Laine has a $8.7 million cap hit for the following two seasons, making failure a very costly error. It’s doubtful Columbus would keep much money, even if they did, which makes it unlikely.
The Avs would need to have faith that Laine will continue to advance at the high level of goal scoring that he displayed early in his career. Though a major makeover akin to Drouin would be required for his all-around game, it’s easy to see why this might be an intriguing option for the Avalanche. Realistically, considering the hazards, they would probably need to add something substantial.
Why Columbus does it: The list of previous Blue Jackets playing prominent roles on other teams seems to be constantly growing, and Columbus has had a difficult time convincing players to stay there. Only a small number of players have shown a willingness to sign long-term contracts.
Naturally, the Blue Jackets would be taking a huge chance on Nichushkin, but if he resolves his off-ice issues, they would have access to a two-way forward that would be extremely difficult to obtain in any other situation. With a plethora of elite defensive prospects currently in the organization and young star center Adam Fantilli as a foundational player, they may select another elite center or defender with the fourth overall pick in a few weeks’ time.
Though they have experienced difficulties and organizational dysfunction in the past year, Nichushkin would be an ideal addition to the team’s talented group of young forwards. He is contracted for six more years, and if all goes well, he could be able to find a respectable chance to rebuild his career.
The apparent drawback for Columbus is this. Nichushkin will be immediately suspended for a year without any certainty of reinstatement if he finds himself back in the program. At that point, his NHL career would probably be gone. In such case, there would be very little financial commitment because he would not count against their pay cap.
This trade is high-risk for both sides, but it’s extremely risky for any team that wants to get Nichushkin at this particular time. But the appeal is also clear since this may be the only scenario in which Columbus may be a good fit for someone with his qualifications. It might be wise to request another piece to avoid trading Laine for nothing in the unlikely event that Nichushkin’s demons resurface, albeit the asset-poor Avalanche would struggle to make that happen.