Following their Stanley Cup win, the Colorado Avalanche locked up forward Valeri Nichushkin ahead of free agency last week.

Nichushkin's extension is for eight years and carries a $6.13 million cap hit. The forward is coming off a breakout year offensively, scoring 25 goals and 52 points in 62 games.

Below, we take a look at how the contract breaks down for the Avalanche.

Valeri Nichushkin – Avalanche Extension Grade

The Player

Nichushkin has played 405 career NHL games overall, spending the last three seasons with Colorado. He stands at 6-foot-4 but can skate well for his size and is very tough to take off the puck.

Re-signing the forward was clearly a priority for the team over bringing back other players. Nichushkin was signed to a big deal, while the Avalanche let some key players hit free agency, including Andre Burakovsky, starting goalie Darcy Kuemper, and even Nazem Kadri, who was on pace for 100 points (per 82 games) this season.

Nichushkin's production was great, scoring at a pace of 33 goals and 69 points per 82. That said, this season is a bit of an outlier from the rest of his career. Over the two previous seasons with Colorado, Nichushkin only produced at a rate of about 15 goals and 30-35 points per 82.

He did have a much larger role this season, however, which was a main factor in the production boost. His average ice time per game was about five minutes higher than the two previous seasons with Colorado. Given Valeri Nichushkin will remain in an elevated role, we can expect his production to be closer to the numbers we saw this season as opposed to previous years.

With some key forwards missing around him though and a limited sample of high production, it's still hard to pin down exactly what kind of numbers he'll actually post from year to year going forward.

The Term

Nichushkin is just 27 years old so at least in terms of age, there shouldn't be much hesitation about an eight-year deal. The hope would be that the winger has many quality years left before there would be reason to worry about any possible decline.

That said, it is a gamble because as mentioned, we still don't know how if he can produce consistently. Colorado basically has to project what kind of impact he'll make in the lineup long-term.

Signing an eight-year deal likely would have kept the cap hit down though. Had he hit free agency, there probably would've been teams offering a higher cap hit on a shorter-term deal. As a result, singing him for maximum term probably keeps his cap hit down a bit.

The Cap Hit

If Valeri Nichushkin is able to replicate a pace of nearly 35 goals and 70 points per 82 games, this contract would provide great value for the Avalanche. He's going to be playing with high-end players in Colorado's top-six going forward and as a result, his production should remain fairly high. As the salary cap continues to rise as well, Nichushkin's cap hit could look even better.

Aside from his numbers, Nichushkin also brings value in his work ethic and defensive reliability. For the next few years at least, $6.13 million should be a pretty good price for the winger.

With the Avalanche likely to be pressed up against the cap for the foreseeable future, Nichushkin's contract could be really beneficial for the team. The Avalanche have an extremely important contract to sign for next year, being Nathan MacKinnon's extension. There's a good chance MacKinnon's next deal will carry a cap hit that's twice as high as his current $6.3 million AAV.

So with Colorado looking to contend going forward, keeping Nichushkin at a $6.13 million cap hit is key.

The No-Move Clause

The deal does carry trade protection, with a no-move clause through the first three years. However, it then becomes a 12-team no-trade list for the final five years of the contract.

Obviously, the Avalanche are looking to contend over the next number of years and there shouldn't be any reason to deal the winger anyways. That said, the switch to a limited no-trade clause later on does provide options. It wouldn't be too difficult to work around the trade protection later, should Colorado need to move the forward. The goal is Valeri Nichushkin will be in Colorado long-term, but at least the team has a potential out.

Providing trade protection is never ideal but this is pretty manageable.

The long-term contract is at least a bit of a gamble for the Avalanche, given it comes after a standout year. Nichushkin should be able to post similar numbers going forward but again, it's a small sample size of high-end production.

The main thing though is the Avalanche have locked up a key forward at a reasonable price. The priority comes in competing right now and even if it meant giving a maximum-term contract, getting Nichushkin at that cap hit is key for their ability to continue contending.

The Avalanche committed to Nichushkin long-term, with the result being a manageable cap hit for the coming years.

Valeri Nichushkin-Avalanche extension Grade: B+