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Could Jonathan Drouin have a Nichushkin-like outcome for Colorado Avalanche?

By Graham Tiedtke

Mar 30, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Jonathan Drouin (27) smiles during warm-up before the game against the Florida Panthers at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Jonathan Drouin (27) smiles during warm-up before the game against the Florida Panthers at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Colorado Avalanche reunited Nathan MacKinnon with Jonathan Drouin this offseason and the two will play on the same line together from now on. Though the contract is just for one year, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be a short marriage. If certain things align, we could see a longer stay from him.

MacKinnon and Drouin played together back in their Halifax days. There, Drouin spent three years, playing in 128 games and scoring 77 goals and 165 assists. He came out in the same year as MacKinnon, as the third-overall pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In three years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Drouin played in 164 games, scoring just 29 goals and having 66 assists. Then he moved on to the Montreal Canadiens where he spent the last six seasons.

Drouin missed a lot of time last season with an upper-body injury. He hasn’t played a full 82-game season in the NHL but, hopefully, that can change in 2023-24.

Drouin reunites with Nathan MacKinnon and will play on the first line. This is due to the fact that Gabriel Landeskog is going to miss the entire regular season with his cartilage injury. There was talk about the possibility of Landeskog returning in the playoffs, but what if Drouin shines?

If Drouin does a good job, he could end up keeping the job. The thinking here is that Landeskog will have missed two entire seasons back-to-back. It’s hard to imagine him returning to a star again. It’s hard to say that about the team’s captain, but the reality is that there is likely to be a lot of rust if/when he returns to the ice.

Before Nichushkin got to Colorado, he was with the Dallas Stars where, aside from his rookie season, he did not have the type of production expected from a top-10 NHL draft pick. Then he got to Colorado and has been a huge contributor.

I’m thinking that since Drouin will play alongside MacKinnon once again, the two will click nicely and Drouin could potentially have the best season of his career. If that happens, Drouin would likely earn a contract extension.

All that being said, here’s hoping that Landeskog does return to the ice for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2024 season and that he doesn’t take long to get back to what he once was.

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