Avalanche sign former No. 3 pick to one-year contract

Drouin spent the 2022-23 season with the Montreal Canadiens where he posted two goals and 27 assists for 29 points in 58 games. He initially joined the franchise six years ago after being traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Mikhail Sergachev.

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft has had his rough days in Montreal, but has also overcome adversity. In 2018-19 he tied his career high of 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists), which he set in 2016-17 with the Bolts. The 28-year-old signed a six-year, $33 million deal with the Canadiens in 2017.

For his career, the Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, product has appeared in 485 games, collecting 77 goals and 204 assists for 281 points in that frame. He has added 21 points in 33 playoff games with the Canadiens and Lightning.

Prior to the start of his pro career, Drouin was a menace in junior hockey, notching 242 points in 128 career Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) games with the Halifax Mooseheads. In 2012-13, alongside Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon, the Mooseheads stormed through the CHL’s Memorial Cup, winning the whole tournament. Drouin was named QMJHL Playoffs MVP, QMJHL Best Professional Prospect, QMJHL Player of the Year and CHL Player of the Year after notching 105 points in 49 games and adding 35 points in 17 QMJHL Playoff games.