Avs add former No. 3 pick who was teammates with MacKinnon
Jul 1, 2023, 2:44 PM
The Colorado Avalanche are slowly but surely continuing to build their roster through free agency.
The team added Miles Wood on Saturday morning, then a couple of hours later reportedly signed forward Jonathan Drouin.
Jonathan Drouin is reportedly signing with the @Avalanche! #GoAvsGo | #NHLFreeAgency pic.twitter.com/qfBIa5SJJe
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) July 1, 2023
Drouin has had some solid years, but unfortunately they were a little while back. Drouin scored 21 goals and tallied 32 assists for the Lightning in the 2016-17 season, and then added 13 goals and 33 assists the year after plus 18 goals and 35 assists the following season. Both of those came with Montreal.
Drouin played with Nathan MacKinnon in junior hockey, so you have to thing the familiarity with one of the Avalanche’s best players helped GM Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic pull the trigger on the deal.
Last year, Drouin played in just 58 games with the Canadiens tallying only two goals, but adding 27 assists. He was the No. 3 overall pick in 2013 NHL Draft, the year MacKinnon went No. 1.
So far, it hasn’t totally clicked for Drouin, particularly recently, but hopefully a fresh start and playing with a great team can unlock his potential. He’s still only 28-years-old.
***
