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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 2015-16. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Antoine Roussel DAL · 29 P in 80 GP Casey Cizikas NYI · 29 P in 80 GP Jimmy Hayes BOS · 29 P in 75 GP Mattias Janmark DAL · 29 P in 73 GP David Desharnais MTL · 29 P in 65 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: 1 points126-27

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 3 0 1 1 -2 0 4 3 0.33 $6.125M
12 seasons Career 630 154 204 358 107 112 1327 711 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

2015-16 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
79 9 20 29 2 12 139 68 0.37 6.5 13:56

Contract

$925KCap hitends in 2016
$32KCap dollars per point29 points in 79 games
$289KCap dollars per goal above replacement3.2 goals above replacement
$2.6MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$1.7MValueworth 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 668 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, so this is its last season.

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 2015-16 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.

2015-16 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+3.2Goals above replacement290th of 675 skaters, 202nd of 445 forwards
+0.5Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 445 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+0.6 61st percentileEven-strength defence-1.0 26th percentilePower play-0.5 17th percentilePenalty kill0.0 39th percentilePenalties+1.0 73rd 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

52.2Corsi for %999 attempts for, 915 against
-0.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
50.8Expected goals for %42.4 expected for, 41.1 against
-2.3xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.5Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
53.8Goals for %42 for, 36 against
100.6PDO8.2% shooting + 92.4% saves
221Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 561 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
Jason Spezza · Mattias Janmark · Valeri Nichushkin32161:2453.549.28-2
Jamie Benn · Tyler Seguin · Valeri Nichushkin27113:1855.061.45-5
Antoine Roussel · Cody Eakin · Valeri Nichushkin1995:1945.031.22-5
Jason Spezza · Patrick Sharp · Valeri Nichushkin1472:4760.157.13-1

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.

9Goalsnot counting empty-netters
14.9Expected goalsfrom 196 unblocked attempts
-5.9Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.81 expected goals per 60 minutes73rd
Shot quality 7.6% chance per attempt56th
Finishing -5.9 goals above expected5thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 412 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 14.9Goals 9

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 9, 2016 vs NSH W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 2 3 14:15
Apr 7, 2016 vs COL W 4-2 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 14:29
Apr 3, 2016 @ ANA L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 13:41
Apr 2, 2016 @ LAK W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 12:36
Mar 31, 2016 vs ARI W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 15:51
Mar 29, 2016 vs NSH W 5-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 15:52
Mar 26, 2016 @ SJS W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:30
Mar 24, 2016 @ ARI L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 12:40
Mar 22, 2016 @ CHI W 6-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 13:52
Mar 19, 2016 vs NYI W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 14:19
Mar 17, 2016 vs TBL W 4-3 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 14:35
Mar 15, 2016 vs LAK L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 18:19
Mar 12, 2016 vs STL L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 6 1 14:53
Mar 11, 2016 vs CHI W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 13:25
Mar 8, 2016 @ MTL L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 15:59
Mar 6, 2016 @ OTT W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:47
Mar 4, 2016 vs NJD W 4-2 1 1 2 2 0 3 0 15:58
Mar 1, 2016 @ NSH L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 15:43
Feb 29, 2016 vs DET L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 14:53
Feb 27, 2016 vs NYR L 2-3 1 0 1 0 0 7 1 15:00
Feb 25, 2016 vs WPG L 3-6 0 1 1 -1 0 0 1 11:55
Feb 23, 2016 @ WPG W 5-3 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 12:26
Feb 20, 2016 vs BOS L 3-7 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 08:29
Feb 18, 2016 @ ARI L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:04
Feb 16, 2016 @ STL L 1-2 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 15:27
Feb 15, 2016 @ NSH W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 13:36
Feb 13, 2016 vs WSH W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 12:21
Feb 11, 2016 @ CHI W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:16
Feb 9, 2016 @ MIN W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 14:14
Feb 6, 2016 vs CHI L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 11:57
Feb 4, 2016 @ COL W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 16:00
Feb 2, 2016 @ WPG W 5-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 10:20
Jan 25, 2016 vs CGY W 2-1 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 15:07
Jan 23, 2016 vs COL L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 14:22
Jan 21, 2016 vs EDM W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 13:14
Jan 19, 2016 @ LAK L 2-3 0 1 1 1 0 1 3 15:51
Jan 16, 2016 @ SJS L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 15:19
Jan 15, 2016 @ ANA L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 12:47
Jan 9, 2016 vs MIN L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 16:10
Jan 7, 2016 vs WPG W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:14
Jan 5, 2016 @ NYR L 2-6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 16:23
Jan 3, 2016 @ NYI L 5-6 2 0 2 2 0 3 1 13:47
Dec 31, 2015 vs NSH W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 09:24
Dec 29, 2015 @ CBJ L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 0 3 2 14:58
Dec 27, 2015 vs STL W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 11:14
Dec 26, 2015 @ STL L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 13:52
Dec 22, 2015 vs CHI W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 11:27
Dec 21, 2015 @ MIN W 6-3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 12:14
Dec 19, 2015 vs MTL W 6-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:03
Dec 17, 2015 vs CGY L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 16:40
Dec 15, 2015 vs CBJ W 5-1 0 1 1 2 0 3 2 19:16
Dec 12, 2015 @ STL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 17:37
Dec 11, 2015 vs PHI W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:59
Dec 8, 2015 vs CAR W 6-5 1 2 3 3 0 1 0 16:38
Dec 4, 2015 @ EDM L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 15:00
Dec 3, 2015 @ VAN W 4-2 1 1 2 1 0 1 2 17:05
Dec 1, 2015 @ CGY L 3-4 (SO) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 14:10
Nov 28, 2015 @ MIN W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 2 1 12:10
Nov 27, 2015 vs VAN W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 11:42
Nov 24, 2015 vs OTT L 4-7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:41
Nov 21, 2015 vs BUF W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 13:37
Nov 19, 2015 @ WSH W 3-2 0 1 1 -1 0 0 1 14:55
Nov 17, 2015 @ BUF W 3-1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 13:33
Nov 14, 2015 vs MIN W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 12:56
Nov 12, 2015 vs WPG W 6-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 11:36
Nov 10, 2015 vs TOR L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 13:58
Nov 8, 2015 @ DET W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 11:44
Nov 6, 2015 @ CAR W 4-1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 14:21
Nov 3, 2015 @ BOS W 5-3 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 12:13
Nov 2, 2015 @ TOR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 11:00
Oct 31, 2015 vs SJS W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 15:16
Oct 29, 2015 vs VAN W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 16:26
Oct 27, 2015 vs ANA W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 09:50
Oct 24, 2015 vs FLA L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 2 1 0 13:55
Oct 22, 2015 @ PIT W 4-1 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 10:50
Oct 20, 2015 @ PHI W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:54
Oct 17, 2015 @ FLA W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:24
Oct 10, 2015 @ COL L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 10:38
Oct 8, 2015 vs PIT W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 14:24