Two years ago, the Colorado Avalanche struck gold when they invited a 6’4” Russian winger to training camp on a Professional Tryout (PTO) contract. One year removed from playing in the KHL and and unrestricted free agent at only 24-years old, Valeri Nichushkin earned a full contract with the Avalanche and has been a very important part of the lineup for the two seasons since.
Now they’re hoping to get just as lucky with Artem Anisimov.
Saddled by a cap hit that far exceeded his worth, the 33-year old is now a veteran who is looking to prolong a decent NHL career.