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Photo of Valeri Nichushkin

Valeri Nichushkin

#43 · Right wing · Columbus Blue Jackets

Born Mar 4, 1995 in Chelyabinsk, RUS (age 31) · 6'4", 217 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 10th overall in 2013 by DAL (round 1)

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Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2021-22

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2013-14. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Mark Letestu CBJ · 34 P in 82 GP Michael Ryder NJD · 34 P in 82 GP Sean Monahan CGY · 34 P in 75 GP R.J. Umberger CBJ · 34 P in 74 GP Lee Stempniak PIT · 34 P in 73 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

020402013-14: 34 points3413-142014-15: 1 points114-152015-16: 29 points2915-162018-19: 10 points1018-192019-20: 27 points2719-202020-21: 21 points2120-212021-22: 52 points5221-222022-23: 47 points4722-232023-24: 53 points5323-242024-25: 34 points3424-252025-26: 49 points4925-262026-27: 2 points226-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2013-14 DAL 79 14 20 34 20 8 128 86 0.43 $925K
2014-15 DAL 8 0 1 1 -5 2 6 7 0.13 $925K
2015-16 DAL 79 9 20 29 2 12 139 68 0.37 $925K
2018-19 DAL 57 0 10 10 -4 0 65 71 0.18 $2.95M
2019-20 COL 65 13 14 27 26 14 113 84 0.42 $850K
2020-21 COL 55 10 11 21 9 4 98 65 0.38 $2.5M
2021-22 COL 62 25 27 52 21 14 180 89 0.84 $2.5M
2022-23 COL 53 17 30 47 15 2 158 54 0.89 $6.125M
2023-24 COL 54 28 25 53 5 22 158 74 0.98 $6.125M
2024-25 COL 43 21 13 34 11 8 118 55 0.79 $6.125M
2025-26 COL 72 17 32 49 9 26 160 55 0.68 $6.125M
2026-27 CBJ 4 1 1 2 -1 0 8 6 0.50 $6.125M
12 seasons Career 631 155 204 359 108 112 1331 714 0.57

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2013-14 DAL 6 1 1 2 1 2 9 3 0.33
2015-16 DAL 10 0 1 1 -2 2 11 14 0.10
2018-19 DAL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00
2019-20 COL 12 2 1 3 0 2 14 46 0.25
2020-21 COL 10 1 2 3 -3 10 30 30 0.30
2021-22 COL 20 9 6 15 6 8 72 51 0.75
2022-23 COL 2 1 0 1 -2 0 6 3 0.50
2023-24 COL 8 9 1 10 1 2 24 21 1.25
2024-25 COL 7 3 1 4 1 0 13 20 0.57
2025-26 COL 12 2 2 4 1 0 19 17 0.33
10 seasons Playoffs 88 28 15 43 3 26 198 207 0.49

2013-14 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
79 14 20 34 20 8 128 86 0.43 10.9 14:58

Contract

$925KCap hitends in 2016
$27KCap dollars per point34 points in 79 games
$173KCap dollars per goal above replacement5.4 goals above replacement
$3.6MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$2.7MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 641 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Dallas Stars on Jul 6, 2013, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $6.375M, beginning in 2013-14. It runs through 2015-16, with 2 seasons left after this one.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2013-14 $925K $833K $93K $1.2M $925K
2014-15 $925K $833K $93K $1.2M $925K
2015-16 $925K $833K $93K $1.2M $925K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 11, 2022 Colorado Avalanche Extension 2022-23 to 2029-30 8 $49M $6.125M
Oct 10, 2020 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2020-21 to 2021-22 2 $5M $2.5M
Aug 19, 2019 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2019-20 to 2019-20 1 $850K $850K
Jul 1, 2018 Dallas Stars New contract bought out, Jun 29, 2019 2018-19 to 2018-19 2 $5.9M $2.95M
Jul 6, 2013 Dallas Stars Entry-level 2013-14 to 2015-16 3 $6.375M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2013-14 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2013-14 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+5.4Goals above replacement189th of 672 skaters, 137th of 438 forwards
+0.9Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+2.1Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 438 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+2.0 72nd percentileEven-strength defence-2.0 11th percentilePower play-0.7 10th percentilePenalty kill+0.0 53rd percentilePenalties+2.8 97th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-50510152013-142015-162019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

50.5Corsi for %1000 attempts for, 979 against
+0.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.7Expected goals for %45.9 expected for, 42.9 against
+1.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
62.5Goals for %50 for, 30 against
103.5PDO9.3% shooting + 94.2% saves
189Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 567 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Jamie Benn · Tyler Seguin · Valeri Nichushkin62537:5852.655.341-13
Erik Cole · Shawn Horcoff · Valeri Nichushkin1271:1150.753.93-3
Shawn Horcoff · Rich Peverley · Valeri Nichushkin1153:4952.452.10-0
Erik Cole · Cody Eakin · Valeri Nichushkin1930:5154.752.80-1

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

14Goalsnot counting empty-netters
15.0Expected goalsfrom 179 unblocked attempts
-1.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.76 expected goals per 60 minutes62nd
Shot quality 8.4% chance per attempt79th
Finishing -1.0 goals above expected43rdOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 403 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 15.0Goals 14

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 13, 2014 @ PHX L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 12:56
Apr 11, 2014 vs STL W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 13:29
Apr 9, 2014 vs CBJ L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 17:32
Apr 8, 2014 vs NSH W 3-2 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 4 0 18:30
Apr 6, 2014 @ FLA L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:52
Apr 5, 2014 @ TBL W 5-2 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 14:26
Apr 3, 2014 @ CAR L 1-4 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 17:28
Apr 1, 2014 @ WSH W 5-0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 15:48
Mar 29, 2014 @ STL W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 12:33
Mar 28, 2014 vs NSH W 7-3 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 14:57
Mar 25, 2014 @ CHI L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 2 11:46
Mar 24, 2014 vs WPG W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 18:13
Mar 22, 2014 vs OTT W 3-1 0 1 1 2 0 3 2 18:55
Mar 20, 2014 @ PHI L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 08:12
Mar 18, 2014 @ PIT L 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 13:54
Mar 16, 2014 @ WPG L 2-7 0 1 1 -1 2 0 0 14:22
Mar 14, 2014 vs CGY L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 15:31
Mar 11, 2014 @ STL W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 12:17
Mar 8, 2014 vs MIN W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 06:35
Mar 6, 2014 vs VAN W 6-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:16
Mar 4, 2014 @ CBJ L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 14:30
Mar 3, 2014 vs BUF W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17:19
Mar 1, 2014 vs TBL L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 18:17
Feb 27, 2014 vs CAR W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 14:49
Feb 8, 2014 vs PHX W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 14:53
Feb 5, 2014 @ SJS L 1-2 (OT) 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 16:39
Feb 4, 2014 @ PHX W 3-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 15:31
Feb 1, 2014 @ ANA W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:16
Jan 30, 2014 vs NJD L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 18:10
Jan 27, 2014 vs COL L 3-4 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 12:36
Jan 25, 2014 vs PIT W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 11:49
Jan 23, 2014 vs TOR W 7-1 2 1 3 2 0 3 1 14:02
Jan 21, 2014 vs MIN W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13:46
Jan 16, 2014 vs BOS L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 12:00
Jan 14, 2014 vs EDM W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12:19
Jan 12, 2014 vs NYI L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 09:56
Jan 10, 2014 @ NYR L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 12:48
Jan 9, 2014 @ NJD L 0-1 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 17:21
Jan 6, 2014 @ NYI L 3-7 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 16:43
Jan 4, 2014 vs DET L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 2 2 19:03
Jan 2, 2014 vs MTL L 4-6 1 0 1 -1 2 4 2 15:45
Dec 31, 2013 vs LAK W 3-2 0 1 1 1 0 2 2 16:36
Dec 29, 2013 vs STL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 17:44
Dec 27, 2013 vs NSH W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 18:01
Dec 23, 2013 @ LAK W 5-2 1 0 1 1 0 4 1 15:17
Dec 21, 2013 @ SJS L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 19:40
Dec 19, 2013 vs VAN W 4-1 1 0 1 2 0 2 2 15:37
Dec 17, 2013 vs COL W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 13:44
Dec 16, 2013 @ COL L 2-6 0 1 1 0 0 4 1 15:37
Dec 14, 2013 @ WPG W 6-4 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 13:22
Dec 12, 2013 @ NSH L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18:18
Dec 10, 2013 vs CHI L 2-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 14:12
Dec 7, 2013 vs PHI W 5-1 1 3 4 3 0 2 0 13:54
Dec 5, 2013 @ TOR L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 16:48
Dec 3, 2013 @ CHI W 4-3 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 13:49
Dec 1, 2013 vs EDM L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 08:26
Nov 29, 2013 vs CHI L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 15:22
Nov 26, 2013 vs ANA W 6-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 15:11
Nov 23, 2013 @ STL L 1-6 0 0 0 -2 0 2 1 15:15
Nov 21, 2013 vs NYR L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 18:10
Nov 17, 2013 @ VAN W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 18:48
Nov 14, 2013 @ CGY W 7-3 0 2 2 4 0 3 1 14:23
Nov 13, 2013 @ EDM W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 14:53
Nov 9, 2013 vs CHI L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13:42
Nov 7, 2013 @ DET W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 15:31
Nov 5, 2013 @ BOS W 3-2 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 4 3 18:03
Nov 3, 2013 @ OTT W 4-3 (SO) 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 19:29
Nov 1, 2013 vs COL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 14:52
Oct 29, 2013 @ MTL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:51
Oct 28, 2013 @ BUF W 4-3 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 15:50
Oct 26, 2013 vs WPG L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 16:55
Oct 24, 2013 vs CGY W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 16:10
Oct 20, 2013 @ ANA L 3-6 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 09:22
Oct 19, 2013 @ LAK L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 4 16:14
Oct 17, 2013 vs SJS W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 09:56
Oct 12, 2013 @ MIN L 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:12
Oct 11, 2013 @ WPG W 4-1 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 12:51
Oct 5, 2013 vs WSH W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 12:36
Oct 3, 2013 vs FLA L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 19:50