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It was a disappointing end to the season for the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche would fall in the first round to the Dallas Stars in seven games. Now the Avalanche look towards the offseason. They have multiple free agents, including Jonathan Drouin. If the Avalanche are unable to re-sign Drouin, we will look at the best three free agent destinations for Drouin this offseason.
Jonathan Drouin joined the Avalanche for the 2023-24 season after becoming an unrestricted free agent. He experienced a career resurgence in that season. For the first time since the 2018-19 season, Grouin played over 60 games. Further, he scored 19 goals, the second highest of his career, while adding a career high 37 assists. This gave him a career high in points with 56. Still, this past year was plagued by injuries once again. He played in just 43 games, scoring 11 goals and adding 26 assists.
According to Cap Wages, the Avalanche are expected to have just $6.955 million in cap space this offseason. With Brock Nelson also a free agent, and multiple needs to fill, the Avalanche may not bring Drouin back. With that, these are the three best destinations for Drouin this off-season.
Drouin stays in the Western Conference
Jonathan Drouin could be an inexpensive option for a team looking to help on their second line. While Drouin did bring in $2.5 million last season, he could be in line for a similar payday, if not a small increase, due to recent injury concerns. The Vegas Golden Knights could use an inexpensive, but quality player like Drouin, as the Golden Knights' offense struggled in the playoffs. First, they are projected to have just $9.6 million in cap space. They do have a few free agents to resign, but the biggest one is Reilly Smith, who could be replaced by Drouin.
Second, Vegas could use some second-line help. Tomas Hertl was third on the team in points, while Pavel Dorofeyev led the team in goals. Still, the third forward on the line was Nicolas Roy, who had just 15 goals and 16 assists. Adding Drouin to the line, who is a solid passer, will give Hertl and Dorofeyev more scoring options. Further, it would move Roy to the third line to pair with William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev, giving the Golden Knights three solid lines of scoring options.
Drouin helps a young core
The Blackhawks could also use some extra help at the forward position. They scored just 2.74 goals per game this past year and could use another weapon next to Connor Bedard. First, Bedard has a solid year for the Blackhawks, leading the team in assists and points. He was joined on the top line by Ryan Donato, who was the team's leading goal scorer and second on the team in points. Donato is a free agent, but with $40.7 million in cap space, plus the chemistry he has developed with Bedard, the Blackhawks should be looking to bring him back.
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Still, the third forward on the line struggled. Ilay Mikheyev had just 34 points this year. Replacing him on the top line with another scoring threat would be big for the continued progression of Bedard and Donato. Jonathan Drouin has shown to be a productive player and could fit in there. Further, the Blackhawks could move Tyler Bertuzzi or Teuvo Teravainen to the top line, placing Drouin on the second line. The Blackhawks' top power play group was also highly successful this year, but adding another piece to the second rotation could make them even better.
Columbus comes calling for Drouin
The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to be aggressive this offseason. The Blue Jackets are expected to have $42.9 million in cap space this offseason to work with. They do have some free agents that they need to resign, including Ivan Provorov. Still, they need second second-line forward this upcoming season, plus someone who can impact the power play.
With Sean Monahan, Kirill Marchenko, and Boone Jenner taking the top line, Drouin could fit in with Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson on the second line. While Johnson was solid this year, with 57 points, Drouin would be an upgrade on the other wing to James van Riemsdyk. He had just 16 goals and 20 assists this year, playing in 71 games. That is one less point than Drouin in 28 more games.
Further, Drouin has been solid on the power play over the last two seasons. Over his last two years, he has 29 power play points, with 12 of them last year in just 43 games. The Blue Jackets had just four players with more power-play points than Drouin last year. All of them played together on the top power play unit. Columbus was 22nd in the NHL on the power play, and Drouin would surely improve that unit.
