Mathieu Darche’s first offseason as general manager of the New York Islanders has been action-packed, led by a first overall selection, three total first-round selections, a blockbuster Noah Dobson trade, and more.
His biggest addition outside the draft was Jonathan Drouin, a 30-year-old free agent winger he inked to a two-year deal worth $8 million ($4 million AAV).
Drouin, who spent the past two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 43 games.
Jonathan Drouin On Why He Signed With IslandersOn Thursday night, New York Islanders forward
Jonathan Drouin spoke on NHL Tonight about why he signed a two-year deal worth $4 million with Long Island.
When speaking about his additions, Darche made clear why Drouin was brought in:
“He really fits what we need right now. We need a guy who can move the puck on the power play, a guy that can play top six with guys like Bo Horvat, who is a guy who likes to shoot. [Jonathan] is a great passer, so he fits our need right now and will help us right away.”
At 5v5, Drouin played almost exclusively alongside Nathan Mackinnon, a former teammate on his junior team, the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.
Playing alongside a superstar like Mackinnon will make anyone’s life easier, and Drouin was no exception.
In nearly 500 minutes together in 2024-25, Drouin and Mackinnon outscored opponents 46-2, a +25 goal differential. In Drouin’s 284 minutes without Mackinnon, the Avalanche outscored opponents 22-18, a +4 goal differential.
One area where the duo especially thrived was on the power play.
While the Avalanche struggled overall on the power play – an issue that led to the departure of assistant coach Ray Bennett, who oversaw the unit and later joined Patrick Roy’s staff this offseason – Drouin and MacKinnon still thrived.
Bennett had been with Colorado for seven seasons, overseeing the power play since the 2017-18 season while winning the 2022 Stanley Cup.
In 126 minutes together, the duo scored 24 goals, a rate of 11.39 goals per 60 minutes. For comparison, the Winnipeg Jets scored the most goals per 60 minutes as a team on the power play with 11.06. The Avalanche, without Drouin and Mackinnon, scored just 4.78, and the Islanders scored 4.1.
Individually, Drouin scored 12 power-play points (three goals, nine assists), which would have tied the Islanders' leader, Dobson, while outpacing any Islander forward.
Of course, Drouin played around half of Colorado’s games, and Dobson is now a Montreal Canadien.
Notably, Drouin played 95.8% of his power play time alongside Mackinnon, so there is really no way to tell how he would have performed without the established superstar, but historically, he has been a dominant power play force.
2024-25 was the fifth time Drouin recorded double-digit power-play points in a season, previously posting a career-high 26 power-play points in 2016-17 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
At all strengths, Drouin’s role was as an offensive forward, so the defensive metrics were not great, but he has all the tools to make a positive defensive impact.
He ranked in the 87th percentile in top skating speed in 2024-25 (23.07), according to NHL Edge, and has historically been labelled an agile skater with elite vision.
Final Verdict: N/A
Drouin wasn’t even an Islander last season, so it would be a bit weird to give him a grade.
However, he was effective in his role, so had he not missed 39 games, his outlook would have been even more promising.
Looking ahead, getting a healthy Drouin in 2025-26 will be vital for the Islanders' playoff aspirations.
In 2023-24, Drouin played 79 games, but before that, he hadn’t played in over 80% of his team’s games since 2018-19, when he suited up in 81.
A Drouin and Horvat duo could be a great fit, as Drouin’s playmaking, vision, speed, and creativity should pair well with Horvat’s shot and IQ.
The third line member is to be determined, but Kyle Palmieri could be a great fit.
He excels at driving the net, is a consistent goal scorer, and a great skater, rounding out a line with a little bit of everything while solidifying an established trio within the Islanders' top six.
Given his power play success, one would assume Drouin will join the top unit, potentially as the bumper or set-up man by the right faceoff dot.
Even if his production declines, his prior success will go a long way in leading the Islanders' power play closer to league average.
All things considered, Drouin’s 2025-26 outlook is a bit of a question mark, but if he stays healthy, he will likely land in the 10-15 goal, 40-55 point range, with 10-14 of those points coming on the power play.
CoreNHL’s model projects Drouin to provide an estimated $3.4 million of value in 2025-26.
Michael Ostrower wrote this story.
