Jonathan Drouin signed with the Colorado Avalanche as a free agent in 2023, and has been on a one-year deal in each of the last two seasons. It would be wise for Drouin to continue this pattern in contract negotiations.
I don’t know if Drouin or his agent has thought much about the possibility of signing elsewhere this time around. He chose to remain in Colorado last season after his breakout 2023-24 season, while many thought that he would out-price himself. The deal he signed was for one season at $2 million. That came as a surprise because he set career highs in assists and total points, while coming up two goals short of tying his career high.
In the 2023-24 season, Drouin played in 79 of a possible 82 regular season games, and I brought up the idea that his time with Colorado could be Nichushkin-like.
The 2024-25 season was not an ideal one for the 30 year old Drouin. He played in just 43 games, registering 11 goals and 26 assists, while averaging 18:11 of ice time a night. That average time on ice stat is actually the exact same as the year before. Had he been able to play more than the 43 games, he likely would have set a career high in that category.
One thing that might be a disadvantage for Drouin is that he has hardly played on a separate line than Nathan MacKinnon since being elevated to the top unit. Is he another “product of the MacKinnon line”? Ideally, we don’t find that out. IdeaIdeally, the Avalanche are able to sign him to another short contract, with the hope that he can play in more games next season and set more career-highs. The Avalanche have to find a way to sell him on staying another year and I think that taking a chance on his health and potential would do him some good if he wants to test free agency in 2026.
You talk about unlocking untapotential, and Drouin has been quite an example of that definition. Sure, he had other great seasons for his standards in 2016-17 and 2018-19, but holding off on trying to cash in after an injury-riddled season would be a very smart move, especially if Drouin believes the Avalanche can go far next year.
That last part definitely remains to be seen, as the team failed this year to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but there is no argument that he would cash in in 2026 if he has another successful year in Colorado.
