Avalanche re-sign Valeri Nichushkin

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesThe Colorado Avalanche announced this afternoon that their main priority for the offseason is here to stay. Valeri Nichushkin is a member of the Avalanche for eight more years, being paid $6.125M/year, as first reported by Pierre LeBrun.

Nichushkin has earned his stay in Colorado after being a big cog in the path toward the Stanley Cup. He will not test the waters of free agency that opens on Wednesday at noon ET. Val had himself a career year and sure has come a long way from where he was back in his Dallas Stars days.

In 82 games, including the playoffs, Nichushkin had 34 goals and 33 assists to tally up a total of 67 points. He…