Islanders sign Jonathan Drouin to two-year contract

This is the first multi-year signing for Drouin since his big six-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens came to an end at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. He’s been on a couple of one-year deals with the Colorado Avalanche. After signing for $825,000 for the 2023-24 campaign, Drouin earned a raise, as he was paid $2.5 million this past year.

Drouin battled injury problems in the early stages of the 2024-25 season, experiencing a series of upper-body ailments that limited him to playing in just 43 games. Yet, when he was in the lineup, the former Halifax Moosehead was effective. He scored 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points, registering three assists in the Avs’ seven-game series against the Dallas Stars. Ultimately, Colorado fell to the Dallas Stars in the Central Division Semifinals.

Drouin’s performance came after he posted a career-high 56 points in 79 games during the 2023-24 campaign, marking the third time in his career that he’s hit the half-century mark in points.

The Islanders are looking to build back toward being a playoff contender in the future, and a player like Drouin could be the right fit for a team with few top-end offensive weapons, which features a young player such as Mathew Barzal.

Across 11 NHL seasons, the 30-year-old has appeared in 607 games, scoring 107 goals and 267 assists for 374 points. He’s also notched 27 points in 43 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

According to PuckPedia, the Isles have a little over $7.1 million in projected cap space for the 2025-26 season.