The Colorado Avalanche have traded winger Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
A deal that had been hovering on the edge of summer speculation finally landed: the Colorado Avalanche traded winger Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Colorado will receive a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2028 fifth-round pick in exchange for the 31-year-old forward.
The trade arrives after early optimism in Denver that the Avalanche could still move Nichushkin “at some point this summer. ” a shift that became more likely as the team weighed upcoming financial commitments. Colorado is seeking more financial flexibility as it looks toward extensions for defenseman Cale Makar and winger Artturi Lehkonen. In the end, even as Nichushkin was a fan favorite in Colorado, he quickly became the odd man out.
Nichushkin is signed through the 2029-30 season at a $6.125MM salary. For Colorado, he was no longer fitting the payment picture as anything more than one more expensive forward. For Columbus. the contract makes him the highest-paid forward on the roster at present—before the Blue Jackets make any additional offseason moves.
The path to Colorado started years earlier. Nichushkin was selected in the first round by the Dallas Stars in the 2013 NHL Draft. then moved to the Avalanche as a non-tendered unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2019-20 season. The gamble paid off in a way that’s hard to ignore: in 404 games with Colorado. Nichushkin scored 131 goals and totaled 283 points. averaging approximately 18 minutes of ice time per game.
His postseason record has been even more striking. In 74 playoff games for the Avalanche, he put up 27 goals and 40 points, helping Colorado win the franchise’s third Stanley Cup championship in 2022.
But there’s a reason the move still carries weight for Columbus. Nichushkin’s production has often come with injury concerns. Dating back to the 2021-22 campaign, he’s been available for only about 65% of Colorado’s regular-season contests.
Columbus appears willing to take that risk. and the price—while not cheap in draft value—was cheaper than what it might have cost to stand still. The Blue Jackets currently have only one selection in the top-65 of this weekend’s draft. and with this acquisition. they’ve found a replacement for Mason Marchment without parting with a first-round pick.
Columbus also appears to be building an answer for a specific roster problem. Nichushkin’s expected role should come with measurable production if his health holds. If he remains healthy for the Blue Jackets, he should be able to give them a 20-goal, 50-point campaign.
Last year at the deadline, Columbus added more right-side scoring in the form of Conor Garland. Now the Blue Jackets have Nichushkin to play on the left, pairing new urgency on offense with a player who brings nearly 40 more games of postseason experience than Marchment.
The point of the trade looks less like a gamble on upside and more like an effort to buy back momentum. The Blue Jackets have not been in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2020. and the decision to pivot away from Marchment suggests they weren’t prepared to wait and see whether he would accept the team’s extension offer. Instead, Columbus went after Nichushkin.
On the Avalanche side, the consequences are both immediate and forward-looking. Barring additional moves. Colorado is set to head into the 2026 NHL Draft with approximately $11MM in cap space and 10 selections after the first round. Yet much of the pressure driving the decision traces back to the looming extension for Cale Makar. which could reach $20MM a season.
Colorado Avalanche Columbus Blue Jackets Valeri Nichushkin Cale Makar Artturi Lehkonen Mason Marchment Conor Garland NHL trade 2026 second-round pick 2027 third-round pick 2028 fifth-round pick