It’s not exactly a surprise, but Jonathan Drouin will wear a different jersey than the Canadiens next season.
He has agreed to a one-year deal to join former Halifax Mooseheads teammate Nathan MacKinnon at the Colorado Avalanche. According to The Athletic, he will rake in $825,000.
Drouin was free as the air in this 1um July, as the six-year contract he had signed upon his arrival in Montreal had expired.
Drouin’s stay in Montreal was tumultuous. Expectations were high for a player who by the age of 21 had just accumulated 53 points in 73 games in Tampa, and they were symbolized by the $33 million deal ($5.5 million average annual value) that was signed he upon his arrival in CH assumed return for the promising Mikhail Sergachev.
“In five years there had never been an opportunity to get hold of a player of this caliber,” Canadian general manager Marc Bergevin said on June 15, 2017, the date of the transaction. I couldn’t let her pass. »
The first two years indicate a successful transaction for both sides. After an unforgettable 2017–2018 season, Drouin and CH bounced back the following season. On February 7, 2019, Drouin put in a brilliant performance with two goals and two assists against the Jets. The Quebecer then takes 2nd placee Place the team with 46 points in 55 games, which is a prediction of 68 points from 82 games. However, he has to settle for 6 points in the next 26 games.
Back into effect the following fall. Drouin has 15 points after 18 first games. On 26 October, he scored twice in CH’s 5-2 win over Toronto at the Bell Centre, a night that Drouin described in April’s season-ending report as his “greatest memory” in Montreal. “The crowd had been calling my name, I had been named the first star. I’ll remember that night for a while. But when he was 19, he injured his wriste Spiel, in Washington, and needs an operation.
Since that incident, Drouin has had surgery on his other wrist and also missed the end of the 2021 season due to anxiety disorders. But the first wrist injury does mark a ‘before’ and an ‘after’, as Drouin himself admitted in the season-ending report last April .
“I’ve had a few nightmares this year,” he admitted. Injuries started this year. I had never experienced an injury like this in my career. There are still days when I get up and think about that day in Washington. It went really well, we were able to take part in the playoffs and it went well personally too. But that’s part of hockey. »
Since that famous Friday night in November 2019, he has accumulated just 72 points in 144 games, including just 10 goals. The drop in his goal tally also coincides with the onset of his wrist problems.
This season, his average time has fallen below 15 minutes (14:54) at Montreal for the first time in six years. He also made headlines late in the season when he was substituted for the entire game on March 18 in Tampa for being late for a team briefing.
Immediately after his arrival, however, Drouin tried to make an impact off the ice. In September 2017 he became ambassador of the Fondation du CHUM. During this period, the Foundation organized five golf tournaments named Number 27.
transaction lost
So, over the years, it became clear that the Habs would get no benefit from sacrificing Sergachev for it. Additionally, Bergevin originally wanted Drouin to become a coveted first-line center. He had his best moments on the wing.
In 321 games with Montreal, he had 186 points (48 goals, 138 assists). His -77 difference is the worst for the Canadian in 2017-2023, ahead of Nick Suzuki (-62).
Meanwhile, Sergachev was on his way. For four years he averaged more than 20 minutes per game, this season it’s almost 24. His offensive performance is also gradually improving and he has 64 points in 79 games this season, which puts him in 10th placee Rank of NHL defenders.
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