Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin is one of the more intriguing pending unrestricted free agents available this summer. After taking a low-cost contract with Colorado, he had a career year offensively, positioning himself for a considerable raise on the open market this time around.
Both Drouin and Colorado management have expressed a desire to get a new deal in place. His agent Allan Walsh from Octagon indicated on his latest podcast (audio link) that he met with GM Chris MacFarland earlier this week at the NHL Combine to kickstart discussions and that both sides remain interested in getting something done.
However, as MacFarland acknowledged to Corey Masisak of The Denver Post, there are some complicating factors at play. While they’re hopeful that captain Gabriel Landeskog can return, there is still some uncertainty on that front. Meanwhile, Valeri Nichushkin will be away from the team for at least the first few weeks of the season while being in the third stage of the Player Assistance Program. He won’t count against the salary cap during that time but will he be able to return after the six-month mark? That question certainly also complicates their spending planning.
Unlike dealing with a restricted free agent where financial decisions could be pushed until later in the summer, Drouin’s unrestricted status doesn’t afford them that luxury. Accordingly, MacFarland stated that this is something that will need to come together sooner than later:
It’s something over the next 10 days to two weeks we’re going to have to try and put our heads together. But really, it’s math. You can’t expect the player to come back on a low-level deal after what he did. It’s a matter of, can you find the space, how do you find the space, and when can you find the space?
In 2022-23, Drouin recorded just two goals and 27 assists in 58 games with Montreal, leading to a one-year, $825K contract with Colorado last July. The move worked out quite well with both sides as the 29-year-old put up 19 goals and 37 helpers in 79 contests while logging over 18 minutes a night for the first time. As a result, as MacFarland himself stated, the option for a low-cost agreement isn’t going to be there this time around.
On his contract with Montreal, Drouin carried a $5.5MM AAV. It’s unlikely that he could command that much on a long-term agreement even with the year he had but something in the $4.5MM to $5MM range could be achievable, especially if several teams believe he’s back on track now coming off the year he had.
With trade activity unlikely to seriously pick up until after the Stanley Cup Final ends, MacFarland and the Avs have a bit of time to determine if they can either afford to re-sign Drouin at market value or take the risk of signing him and see what happens later with Landeskog and Nichushkin, knowing it could complicate things in-season. But as much as it would be a risk to go that route, it would also be a risk to lose him outright with the uncertainty surrounding the other two wingers. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see something get done to keep him around in the coming weeks.