Valeri Nichushkin will be the first to admit he isn’t having a great season.
In an interview with Russian outlet Sport-Express following a game against the San Jose Sharks on the weekend, the Dallas Stars winger was quoted saying he was upset with a lack of playing time and mentioned he felt Stars coach Lindy Ruff didn’t trust him.
“He is frustrated, but he is frustrated with himself,” Nichushkin’s agent, Mark Gandler, told Stars beat reporter Mike Helka of the Dallas Morning News Tuesday. “He wants to score more, and he knows he’s getting chances and he wants to put the puck in. I think that is natural for him.
“Val can go from 0 to 100 emotionally, and this [interview] was right after a game and he was frustrated. But he can also go from 100 to 0. I talked to him [Tuesday] and I don’t think he even knew what was said in the interview. I know he was going to talk to Lindy Ruff and Jim Nill.”
Following a promising rookie campaign in 2013-14, Nichushkin, 21, underwent hip surgery and missed all but eight games last season. The 10th-overall pick from 2013 only has just 27 points in 73 games this year and has registered more than 16 minutes of ice time only nine times.
Nichushkin is a pending restricted free agent.
“I don’t want to say much about contracts but I can tell you that Val loves it in Dallas. He’s very happy there,” Gandler added.