Aarif Deen
Former Colorado Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin was placed on waivers by the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday for buyout purposes. He will become an unrestricted free agent at noon ET on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Canadian forward spent two seasons with the Avs from 2023-2025 and was a key piece of the top six in Gabe Landeskog’s absence.
Following the 2025 postseason, Drouin signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the New York Islanders. He started the season strong but struggled after the first 20 or so games and was eventually a throw-in piece in the trade that sent Brayden Schenn from St. Louis to New York.
Drouin finished with four goals and 24 points in 64 games.
Last summer, Drouin didn’t wanted to leave Colorado, but he ultimately wasn’t going to get anything remotely close to what he signed for had he stayed. Now that he’s making some money via his buyout, would another near jear-minimum bargain deal with the Avs make sense?
in 2023-24, Drouin had 56 points in 70 games making less than a million dollars against the cap. He followed it up with 37 in 43 games before losing his spot in the top six upon Landeskog’s return in the postseason. His two years in Colorado, played mostly with longtime friend Nathan MacKinnon, were the most productive of his career.
Joe Sakic said last week that he’d like to sign a forward or two and a defenseman with the roughly $6 million in remaining cap space. If Drouin takes less again, he could help the Avs as a middle six option, if not a permanent spot in the top six that was vacated by Valeri Nichushkin. He’ll likely get more lucrative offers elsewhere and would have to voluntarily choose Colorado. It’s not impossible given how much he enjoyed being with the Avs the first time.
We’ll have to see if the idea interests him, and if Sakic shares the same thought.