Chicago Blackhawks early free agent profile: Jonathan Drouin

There are multiple aspects of the Chicago Blackhawks summer that will be crucial to the positive swing that the rebuild took at the end of this past season. The head coaching hire is without a doubt the most important thing that the front office needs to take care of. Even though they have lost out on their rumored top candidate for the role in David Carle along with well-respected bench boss Mike Sullivan, there are still a handful of solid options on the market to be the team’s next leader.

The organization landed the third overall pick in the draft this summer on Monday through the draft lottery and that pick alone will give fans plenty of reason to be excited at the idea of adding another franchise cornerstone into the mix. Chicago also holds another first-rounder from Toronto and two second-round choices in the draft this year.

Despite general manager Kyle Davidson hitting free agency hard last summer by adding a slew of veterans into the fray for last year’s squad, he won’t ignore the open market in the coming months. There are arguably even stronger options in the forward department that could elevate this roster in the fall, and one of them is a hard working veteran who has seen success in his multiple stops across the league.

Why Jonathan Drouin would fit the Chicago Blackhawks plan

Jonathan Drouin would be a short term veteran addition to Chicago’s forward group and he would come at a friendly rate. He is currently on his second one-year contract with the Avalanche that is pay him $2.5 million this season. Drouin earned this deal after he posted 19 goals in 79 games with Colorado in the 2023-24 season, which was the second-most goals he scored in a campaign in his lengthy pro career.

Drouin could be another middle-six winger on this Blackhawks roster to create competition in camp this year among the younger players the see who will start the year out at the NHL level and who will begin the campaign in Rockford. This will be the toughest team to make in the last few years in Chicago, and Drouin would only add more fuel to that fire.

Why the Chicago Blackhawks might want to avoid Jonathan Drouin

A major knock on Drouin, if not the biggest is his ability to stay on the ice. While he played in all but three regular season games for Colorado in the 2023-24 campaign, he was hit with multiple injuries this most recent season. The veteran logged just 43 regular season games for the Avalanche, with his last contest before the playoffs being the April 2 showdown against the Blackhawks at the United Center.

In those 43 regular season games. Drouin scored 11 goals and had 26 assists for 37 total points. He returned to the lineup for Colorado’s first round playoff matchup with the Dallas Stars, where they lost the series in seven games. Drouin still posted solid numbers overall in his two years with the Avalanche, but he might not be the guy Chicago is looking for if he can’t consistently stay healthy.