3 free agents the Colorado Avalanche should sign

2.) Jake DeBrusk

Jake DeBrusk is a player with high upside who the Avalanche should take a shot at signing. With the possibility that Jonathan Drouin leaves the team after one year, that loss will leave a void that must be rectified if the Avalanche expect to continue to win hockey games.

Insert DeBrusk, a player who has scored 16 or more goals every year he’s played 64 or more games in a season. He’s consistent and is still young at only 27 years of age. He plays the same position as Drouin, left wing, and can step in to play with a player like MacKinnon and transition seamlessly.

Jake DeBrusk comes from a highly respected organization with the Boston Bruins, and he’s a former first round pick, 14th overall in 2015. There aren’t many former first round picks available for another team to poach via free agency. He also comes from a hockey family as his father played in the NHL.

DeBrusk, similarly to Drouin, has some questions about him, but a change of scenery will do him good. The media in Boston is scrutinizing and that atmosphere is not for everyone. The feel around the team in Colorado is likely very different than in Boston, and the Avs have a player like Nathan MacKinnon who elevates teammates with his habits alone.

DeBrusk was on a bridge type contract in Boston and made only $4 million dollars per season over two years. It’s likely he’d want to make more than that and Chris MacFarland would have to fabricate a deal that would work for both sides. Being able to add a player like Jake DeBrusk would be extremely beneficial to the Avalanche’s quest for another Stanley Cup soon.