The Colorado Avalanche are entering the 2023-24 season with a massive head start to their overall roster construction knowing captain Gabriel Landeskog will be out of the lineup for the entire season. Powered with this information, the Avalanche began structuring their roster to make another run at winning another championship title. Welcome to our in-depth series where we dive into the additions to the Colorado Avalanche roster. Our first focus will be Jonathan Drouin.
Drouin is entering his 10th season in the NHL and was originally the 3rd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning; where his current new teammate, Nathan MacKinnon, was taken 1st overall by the Colorado Avalanche. Drouin was a standout in the QMJHL totaling 213 points in his final 2 years with the Halifax Mooseheads and earned various accolades during the 2012-2013 season (CHL POTY, Mike Bossy Trophy , Michel Briere Trophy , Paul Dumont Trophy , Guy Lafleur Trophy ).
Drouin would play three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, with his 2nd season being marred by an injury resulting in only 19 games at the NHL level. Drouin would eventually rejoin the Lightning at the end of the 2015-16 season and help Tampa in their playoff push, eventually being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals against eventual Stanley Cup Champions, Pittsburgh Penguins. As a pending UFA, Tampa Bay would trade Drouin to the Montreal Canadiens where he would spend his next six seasons.
Drouin’s time in Montreal would be met with controversy as he spent much of his time injured or unavailable and has not played a full season since 2018-2019, playing in only 163 total games over the last four seasons. The Avalanche are taking a large risk in signing Jonathan Drouin to a one-year contract for $825,000. Can Drouin rekindle some of the magic that made the Halifax Mooseheads special back in 2012-2013?
Chris MacFarland seems to think so. “I believe Drouin’s skillset will definitely play well with our other skilled players,” MacFarland said. Drouin will likely fill the void on the top line, reuniting with Nathan MacKinnon, and playing opposite wing to Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche have a history, as of late, in revitalizing a player’s career in turning them into superstars (Burakovsky, Nichuskin, Kadri) and may give Drouin the best possible opportunity to start over and put his injury history behind him.
Drouin has a mountain comparable to Mount Everest to climb if he wants to reignite his career moving forward. The Colorado Avalanche will give him every opportunity to do so, but that means setting career numbers and being healthy long-term. On the top line, Drouin would be expected to eat large amounts of minutes. Gabriel Landeskog had an average time on ice (ATOI) of 19:25 in his 11-year career so far. Jonathan Drouin, has a career ATOI of only 16:08. Drouin has also only managed one season of 20+ goals and three seasons with 30+ assists. MacKinnon and Drouin could rekindle the magic they had in Halifax, adding the already amazing chemistry MacKinnon has with Rantanen could make the Avalanche top line a heavy favorite in any matchup all season long.