Photos: Mercury Defeat Mystics, 91-72, Aug. 8, 2023

Valeri Nichushkin has returned to Denver, while goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen has arrived, the Colorado Avalanche announced Saturday. Nichushkin remains in Stage 3 of the NHL-NHLPA player assistance program but will be skating and working out away from the team. General manager Chris MacFarland said before the regular season began that Nichushkin was expected to return to Colorado from Russia near the end of this month. While being placed into Stage 3 of the program May 13 — the day of Game 4 against the Dallas Stars during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs — Nichushkin was suspended for “at least six months.” He will be eligible to apply for reinstatement next month, but will also have to show he’s satisfied the requirements of Stage 3.

You know it’s been a tough week when the best news for Avalanche fans before Friday night’s OT win over Anaheim didn’t come from the Avs at all. Or from Denver. Or even from hockey, now that you mention it. The burgundy and blue opened a regular season 0-4 for the first time since 1998.

His homecoming remained central to Thursday’s outcome. How would he deal with all eyes on him and so many family and friends in attendance? Wait, you thought this was about Sean Payton? I am talking about Vance Joseph. The Broncos defensive coordinator was born and raised in Marrero, La., roughly eight miles from New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS — The Broncos’ opening offensive sequence Thursday night at the Superdome provided a glimpse of where the unit is through seven games this season. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix and company can make easy things look difficult. They can also make difficult things look easy. They struggle in the passing game but hit big plays here and there.

The finances of the goaltending position have become an interesting early-season storyline in the NHL. Some of the best teams in recent NHL history have won the Stanley Cup without dedicating a lot of salary cap space to goaltenders, including the Avalanche in 2022. But the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers have also won a title recently and are spending quite a bit of money on their Vezina Trophy-winning netminders. There has been a philosophy in some NHL circles that goalies are a bit like running backs: unpredictable year-to-year performance, often with shorter peaks than players at other positions, but the very best are still worth big bucks.

Bo can’t throw. That is quite the takeaway from the Broncos’ Big Easy win over the New Orleans Saints. Returning home Friday brought surprising hand-wringing on talk radio and social media about Nix’s accuracy. His misses were unsettling, but no reason to break glass in case of emergency. Not yet anyway. Each game is not a referendum on Nix’s career. And the latest performance should not be an indictment after a week when the team did not practice.