Don Waddell has made his first trade of the offseason.
The President of Hockey Operations and General Manager announced Thursday that the Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired winger Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche, sending three draft picks as compensation for the 31-year-old.
The draft picks are a second-round pick (43rd overall) in the 2026 NHL Draft, which begins Friday, as well as a third-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2028.
WELCOME TO THE 614!
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) June 25, 2026
We've acquired Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2026 2nd-RD pick, a 2027 3rd-RD pick, and a 2028 5th-RD pick!
Full details: https://t.co/iErrPuAA5K
CBJ x @OHHeartofitAll pic.twitter.com/ErDuefP0EZ
Nichushkin scored 17 goals and added 32 assists for 49 points in a total of 72 regular season games with the Avalanche this past season.
For his career, Nichushkin has 154 goals and 203 assists for 357 points in 627 games between four seasons with the Dallas Stars and the last seven with the Avalanche.
Additionally, Nichushkin's career includes 41 power play goals, 24 game-winning goals and six shorthanded tallies with a cumulative +109 plus/minus rating on 16:25 of ice time.
Valeri Nichushkin is headed to the Blue Jackets for a seemingly small sum. Still a lot of game when he's available pic.twitter.com/k4wWYyFLLK
— dom (@domluszczyszyn) June 25, 2026
"Valeri is a big, strong forward who skates exceptionally well, can score goals, win puck battles and doesn’t shy away from playing in the hard areas,” said Waddell. “He is an accomplished two-way player who competes at a high level and we are very excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family."
The 6-4, 210-pound native of Chelyabinsk, Russia has four years left on his current contract at an average annual value of $6.125 million. Of note, Nichushkin had a 12-team no-trade list, meaning either Columbus was not on it or that he waived it to become a Blue Jacket.
Nichushkin's best season came in 2023-24, when he racked up 28 goals and 25 assists for 53 points in just 54 games.
After scoring nine goals in the first eight postseason games that season, Nichushkin was suspended for a minimum of six months and was placed in the NHL/NHL Players' Association player assistance program. Multiple sources confirmed the suspension was a result of a failed drug test.
