Valeri Nichushkin said he and the team have moved on from the incident that happened in Seattle during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

Valeri Nichushkin said he and the team have moved on from the incident that happened in Seattle before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Kraken last season.

The incident in question involved a highly intoxicated woman who was found in his hotel room. She was checked out by medics and allegedly combative, but no charges were filed.  

Speaking publicly for the first time on Thursday since his abrupt departure from the team in May, Nichushkin didn't exactly shed light on the details that led to his departure.

"We already talked about that, family reasons," he said on the first day of Colorado's training camp. "I know you guys want to find something there but it's nothing really interesting. I think we should close it. It's a new season right now. We have to focus on that."

Nichushkin appeared somewhat nervous during the interview, which was to be expected. But he also seemed relieved to be back on the ice with the team and in the locker room, although he is still dealing with a couple of small, nagging injuries.

"My teammates support me from when I went in from Seattle," he said. "I want to say thank you everybody for support(ing) me."

Nichushkin's coach and teammates said they have also moved on and are glad to have the big, power forward back. Head coach Jared Bednar said he's got a lot of faith in Nichushkin and that he's focused on what the 28-year-old can contribute to the team. 

"We love Val," centre Nathan MacKinnon said in a news conference on Wednesday. "I think it's more than faith. We just know he's going to be here for us. He's such an amazing player. I've said it many times, I thought he was our best player in the Final against Tampa. He was such a beast all over the ice. Val's a good person at the end of the day. He's a great guy and we all love him and everything's good."

Cale Makar had similar sentiments but admitted Nichushkin's absence affected the team in its first-round loss to Seattle. After all, a year earlier Nichushkin was a key factor in Colorado winning the Stanley Cup, finishing the playoffs with nine goals and 15 points in 20 games.

"To have him back, to have him being here and seeing how committed he's just been since being back for a week, it's awesome," Makar said at the news conference Wednesday. "I think we've all turned the page on that, kind of and we're excited to see him back out there in full force."