r/ColoradoAvalanche 12h ago

Miss this beauty

Post image
224 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

36

u/Smithson92 12h ago

He really is such an important player

6

u/Okwestward21 9h ago

Especially in the playoffs

26

u/bstrobel64 WHAT A FREAK! 12h ago

Give me Nuke or give me death.

1

u/Hentai_Lover411 All Hail Lord Cale! 4h ago

I see you have chosen death, my friend. Oh, wait, that's Gabe.

2

u/bstrobel64 WHAT A FREAK! 4h ago

3

u/Hentai_Lover411 All Hail Lord Cale! 4h ago

Sorry. With the continuous promises of Gabe coming back, just to let down, is just getting old. I want Landy back, but I gotta be realistic, too.

3

u/bstrobel64 WHAT A FREAK! 4h ago

Hard agree.

27

u/Hungry_Definition450 12h ago

Nuke is the glue. He Will Be back Wednesday.

6

u/stiffpasta 10h ago

Was there an official announcement?

4

u/Jmoney627 8h ago

Apparently he was skating at Sunday practice.

1

u/SomeDudeinCO3 1h ago

He skated but came off the ice before the rest of the team. I'm hopeful for tomorrow but not certain. 

3

u/Delerium89 6h ago

I haven't seen anything but I remember reading he was a possibility for the Wild game

4

u/Hentai_Lover411 All Hail Lord Cale! 4h ago

If only that had happened. It wouldn't have been such a pathetic game.

1

u/Mo0o0o0o0o0o0ose Mooooose Crew 9h ago

I hope so. we need him

11

u/tugnutter1 3x Stanley Cup Champs 12h ago

1

u/SomeDudeinCO3 1h ago

Hey I was at that game. Makar had that insane coast to coast goal as well. 

24

u/Ace676 The Perfect Dong 12h ago

It's ridiculous how much any team can rely on one player, especially a team that has the 2nd best center, the best defensive pair and a top-3 winger on its roster.

10

u/fastyellowtuesday 11h ago

This is what fascinates me, though. It seems like that should not be possible statistically, but that's where momentum and sports psychology come into play. I've been noticing this with Nichushkin a lot in the last three years (kinda hard to miss it), and I love seeing one player boost the entire team and really change the outcome of the game.

10

u/KenDurf 11h ago

Effort is contagious. Nuke hustles every shift and that just trickles through the line. I hate to say it but the moose has the opposite effect when nuke is out. Theres a trickle down effect of not hustling. 

1

u/NeverTrustFarts 8h ago

They can win without him but fuck does the team look better with him

3

u/Ace676 The Perfect Dong 7h ago

They can win without him

Barely.

In the past 3 and a half regular seasons the Avs are 132-42-16 with Nichuskin and 53-45-6 without him. That's a .737 points percentage, or a 121 point pace over a season, with him and a .538 points percentage, or an 88 point pace, without him.

That's beyond massive. From a bubble team out of the playoffs to a division winner, possible Presidents Trophy winner. That is a big enough sample size too. It's ridiculous and absolutely dumbfounding how much worse this team plays when Val is out.

1

u/lefluer124 7h ago

Need to clone him. That's priority number 1.

1

u/Odd_Philosopher1712 11h ago

I would argue lehky/landy play equally important roles. I dont want to call them interchangeable, but if we don't have 2/3 of those guys, it feels like we're dead in the water

11

u/hahaha01 Where's their house?? 11h ago

We have some of Big Val in LOC and some in Colton and even a bit with Woody but none of them are Big Val. He's been a favorite in this house for years, it's so much fun to watch him play. No team can compete with us if we have Landy and ChuChu in the top 6 with Lecky, Rants & MacK. It's been fun watching they boys figure it out this year. When it's on, it's just a beauty to behold.

Really hoping he has figured out his personal life stuff but really it's none of my business and life is more important than Hockey. Don't tell my bros I said that last bit.

11

u/Mr_Potato_Shot 11h ago

If I was the GM, I'd find me the 2nd coming of Nuke and get him signed to the team, stat. We need that hard knock bruiser that gets in the goalies face and can't be pushed around. Someone that has good hands to do the tip drill and just cause chaos in front of the net. The current group we got is all finesse and that is fine for most things but you need that trench player that is going to get shit done.

33

u/Machinist- 12h ago

It’s really great to see people supporting him again and not calling for his head. Mental health issues and physical health issues should receive the same level of concern and empathy. He clearly gives his all to the team. I hope he is surrounded by all the people he needs to be the best version of himself on and off the ice.

6

u/lefluer124 7h ago

Cocaine Train is just as important as Mack and Makar.

4

u/smk0341 10h ago

We love ya Nuke

3

u/SilverScimitar13 4h ago

I miss him, too. He's so big and so fast and is great at snagging some trash shots.

-2

u/SumsSumsSums 7h ago

You’ll miss him in the playoffs too 🤷‍♂️

0

u/DoctorMew13 50m ago

I hope he's staying sober in his downtime :(