The Colorado Avalanche have already made some key decisions on a few Stanley Cup-winning players from last year's team, including Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Darcy Kuemper. Among the free agents the Avalanche still have to take care of include star forwards Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin. According to Pierre LeBrun, contract talks between Nichushkin's camp and the Avalanche have made significant process in recent days and could potentially get a deal done ahead of free agency on Wednesday.

The two sides seem motivated to reach an agreement that would bring Nichushkin back to Colorado after a breakout season with the Avs. After falling out of favor with the Stars a few years back, the Avalanche gave Nichushkin a lifeline, and he's made the most of it, culminating in his best-ever season in 2021-22.

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Last year, Nichushkin averaged a career-high 19:02 of ice time, up from his previous best of 14:58 which he set during his rookie season. The results on the ice were clear as day. Showing much more confidence playing in Colorado's high-octane offense, Nichushkin registered 52 points, including 25 goals and 27 assists.

To put his improvement into perspective, Nichushkin had never scored more than 14 goals in a single season, and had never tallied above 34 points. He absolutely crushed those numbers in 2021-22 with the Avs, and will now, hopefully, get the opportunity to continue his development.

After winning the Cup with the Avs last season, and playing an important role in doing so, the 27-year-old remains one of Colorado's top priorities this offseason, and a new deal is looking increasingly more likely with free agency set to open up on Wednesday.