The Islanders announced they’ve signed winger Jonathan Drouin to a two-year contract. The deal is worth $4MM per season, Frank Seravalli reports.
Similarly to their recruitment of winger Anthony Duclair last offseason, the Islanders have looked to the second-tier options for forwards to fix their offensive woes. In Drouin, they’ll add a silky playmaking winger into their top-six.
The former third-overall pick has played for the Colorado Avalanche for the past two years, though he struggled with injuries last season. Throughout his two-year stint, Drouin scored 30 goals and 93 points in 122 games with a +16 rating, averaging 18:11 of ice time.
Remarkably, even after ten years in the NHL, Drouin’s first season in Colorado was his best individual campaign yet. Besides him achieving a career-high 56 points during the 2023-24 campaign, Drouin averaged a 57.0% CorsiFor% at even strength during his tenure in Denver. It’s hard to imagine that he’s capable of driving his line, but the Islanders can place him next to Bo Horvat or Mathew Barzal and expect quality production.
If they have any hopes of contending during the 2025-26 season, New York desperately needed to add more offense. They faced financial constraints due to the number of restricted free agents they needed to sign. Drouin gives them the best of both worlds, offering quality secondary scoring production while leaving enough room for the Islanders to have enough space to re-up their remaining RFAs.
Islanders quietly having a very good off-season.
I was afraid the Islanders would sign him. I don’t know that he has much left.
Someone should tell the Islanders management that they don’t have to spend every penny.
It’s short term middle-6 money for a guy who has shown he can give you top-6 production. Also would hopefully help out on the power play, they need more offense there and Drouin fills that need well.