MOSCOW — An alleged doping case against MOSCOW that dates back years Colorado Avalanche Forward Valeri Nichushkin The International Ice Hockey Federation has withdrawn the appeal, according to the Russian Hockey Federation on Tuesday.
According to the RHF, Nichushkin was informed by the IIHF that all charges against him had been dropped and it wouldn’t attempt to suspend him. This was based on “the results from additional analyses” performed at a Swiss drug-testing laboratory.
The IIHF did no immediate respond to a request for comment.
Nichushkin was a key player for the Avalanche during their Stanley Cup run. To stay with Colorado for the long-term, he signed an eight-year $49 million contract.
A sanction by the IIHF would not affect eligibility for the NHL.
Dmitry Kurbatov (RHF executive director) told Russian media in November 2021 that the case stemmed from a sample Nichushkin provided in 2013. Kurbatov stated that the World Anti-Doping Agency received Nichushkin’s sample in 2019 at a closed Moscow laboratory and that it contained a banned substance.
Nichushkin claimed that he was told by Sport-Express in July that a test he had given while working with Traktor Chelyabinsk contained a suspicious amount of testosterone. He was also accused of being involved in a Russian doping scheme. He claimed he was fighting these allegations.