There’s more to being a champion than hoisting the Stanley Cup. The Avs might be good at hockey, but as an organization, they’re failing at life.
With the NHL world buzzing about the disappearance of forward Valeri Nichushkin and a Seattle police report indicating an intoxicated woman found in his hotel room on the afternoon of a playoff game had to be transported to a hospital, the right thing for president of hockey operations Joe Sakic to do was obvious. Sakic needed to stand up with clear-eyed accountability to loyal fans and a sense of compassion for Nichushkin, a Colorado player in trouble.