After it became clear that Val would be out for the remainder of the 2024 playoffs, several Avalanche players offered their reaction to the news.

"We're hoping Val's OK and hoping for the best for him," Casey Middlestadt, a forward with the team said. He also said that he and other members of the team found out about Val's suspension as they entered the arena for Game 4.

Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson took a slightly different tact in speaking with The Denver Post. "[Nichushkin] made his decisions. That's all I'm going to say on that. He made his decisions," Jack said after the game. Players like Casey and Jack almost definitely have more information about why exactly Val will no longer be able to play, but it seems that whatever the issue is has been ongoing for some time.

For Val to have faced this level of suspension, he would have already had to violate Stages 1 and 2 of the program. The Avalanche have a major hole to climb out of as a team if they want to advance to the next round of the playoffs. "We're not going to use that as an excuse. We can't. We won't," coach Jared Bednar said after the Game 4 loss. "Again, we treat it just like [Logan O'Connor] — injured, done for the year. You get news like that all the time."