1 bargain player the Colorado Avalanche could sign in free agency: Jonathan Drouin, COL
Yeah, I understand this may not be an exciting last player given that it doesn’t add anything new. However, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s the case with Colorado Avalanche free agent-to-be Jonathan Drouin.
Drouin came over from the Montreal Canadiens last offseason in free agency and revived his career in a big way. He played in 79 games (second-most of his career), scored 19 goals and 37 assists (second-best and first-best of his career, respectively) and helped the Colorado Avalanche with two game-winning goals.
Drouin’s Avalanche career did not start out well, as we saw Jared Bednar flip him around on different lines to figure out the best spot for him. He finally found a home on the top line for a good portion of the season and stayed there with Nathan MacKinnon centering the line.
He’s not a Reinhart-type player, but I think that he’s definitely a top priority for the team and both sides want to get a deal done to have him stick around in Colorado. He is only 29 years old, so the team could sign him to a longer deal and spread out his cap hit, whatever it may be in the end.
My thinking here is that Drouin is worth the contract that he’s going to get in free agency. We know what he can be with the Avalanche, and we don’t know how or if a potential replacement in free agency will work out. So, the best thing to do here is to keep Drouin in the building, which the two sides are trying to do.