The New York Islanders have signed winger Jonathan Drouin to a two-year contract with a $4 million AAV.

Drouin built his career back up in Colorado by accepting two separate one-year contracts. Over his two seasons there, he averaged a 62-point 82-game pace (0.76 PTS/GP) while often on a line with junior teammate Nathan MacKinnon. One important consideration with Drouin is that he is a Certified Band-Aid Boy, having played just 43 games in 2024-25 while only playing at least 60 games once since 2019-20.

Drouin should easily fit into the Isles' top six, as he is an offensively-minded player. If Mathew Barzal is used as a center, then Drouin should play beside either Barzal or Bo Horvat. Both Barzal and Drouin are playmakers, so they would need someone with more of a scoring touch to round out that duo. Anders Lee might work there if his bounce-back in 2024-25 was real. Or maybe Patrick Roy stacks the top line with Barzal, Horvat, and Drouin.

Whichever way the lines fall, this is a downgrade for Drouin simply by the Isles not having a scorer at the level of MacKinnon. On top of that, Drouin shot at a career high 19.6% in 2024-25, which is concerning because his career shooting percentage is only around 10%. Drouin is a pass-first player who averaged only 1.3 SOG/GP in 2024-25, which could mean his goal total for the Islanders is very low relative to overall offensive expectations.

Drouin was often featured on the Avalanche's top power play with MacKinnon, and that is a role he will not likely relinquish with his new team. The Islanders had the league's second-worst power play conversion rate in 2024-25 at 12.6%, so upgrades were needed. To put it another way, the recently traded Noah Dobson was the only Islanders player to score at least 10 power-play points this past season. A potential Islanders' top power play could feature Barzal, Horvat, Drouin, either Lee or Kyle Palmieri, and recently re-signed Tony DeAngelo on the point.

Players this helps, in order:

Barzal

Horvat

Players this hurts, in order:

Drouin

Palmieri

Simon Holmstrom