He was supposed to be the offensive star of the league. But it didn’t happen. Jonathan Drouin was the great hope of Tampa Bay, but he raised his head and wanted to leave. He ended up in Montreal, but there was no glory there either. A career restart could come in Colorado, where he signed for less than a million dollars.
It took nearly a decade, but the Colorado Avalanche will once again create one of the most dominant duos junior hockey has ever seen. After signing Jonathan Drouin on Saturday, the 27-year-old winger will be reunited with his former center Nathan MacKinnon. Although their careers took completely different paths, they are back together.
And MacKinnon played a big part in that.
“They have a long history together,” Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland said of them. “Nathan knows him better than anyone. Not only as a player, but also as a person. Nate was definitely an honorary member of the scout department for a few days, that’s for sure.’
Speaking to the media for the first time since signing with Colorado, Drouin said MacKinnon’s presence was obviously a big part of the process. “We’ve been texting a lot in recent weeks,” Drouin said.
However, even so, entering the free agent market for the first time in my career was a bit of a strange experience.
“It was something new,” he described. “Something I’ve never experienced before. I definitely had Colorado in my sights a bit and was hoping we could make a deal, I was very lucky. A lot of phone calls, a lot of e-mails, but now it’s all done,” he relieved.
Most of all, he needed a change.
The past six years in Montreal have not gone the way everyone expected. After being acquired from Tampa Bay, Drouin did decently well, but the last few years have been a real struggle. Not only was he dealing with injuries, but he was dealing with some personal issues as well.
“I needed a fresh start,” Drouin admitted. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my six years in Montreal, so I’m excited to start again somewhere else. They’re a great team that’s been up there for a lot of years, so I’ll try to help them as much as I can and try to find my game again. I know it’s in there somewhere, it’s just a matter of confidence.”
Share on Facebook
Share on Google+
Share on Twitter
