Colorado Avalanche’s Jonathan Drouin to miss first round series vs. Jets with lower-body injury

Drouin, 29, suffered the injury during the Avs’ regular season finale on Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers when he took an awkward fall into the boards late in the second period. He did not return to the game for the third period, and his status for the first round was up in the air until now. The injury will keep him out for the entirety of the series, and the certainty about that timeline likely indicates that his status for the second round may also be up in the air should the Avs advance.

It’s a really tough bounce for Drouin, as he was having a resurgent season with the Avs alongside his old Halifax Mooseheads teammate in Nathan MacKinnon. The Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec product finished the season with 19 goals and 37 assists for 56 points in 79 games, with his assist and point totals being a career high for him.

Drouin was a former third overall selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2013 NHL Draft, making his NHL debut in the 2014-15 season and playing three seasons in Tampa with underwhelming playing time before requesting a trade. The request was granted in the 2017 offseason, where he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens and spent six seasons that featured a lot of injuries and a leave of absence to prioritize his mental health.

Drouin would then find himself as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career in the 2023 offseason, and he would go on to sign his current one-year, $825,000 contract with the Avalanche. Drouin is currently set to be an unrestricted free agent again in the 2024 offseason.

This means that the Avalanche will need to start their playoff run without Drouin, as they’re set to face the Jets in the first round of the playoffs. Colorado will look to get off on the right foot when they play Game 1 of the series in Winnipeg on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.