Colorado Avalanche roll out new-look top line that has huge boom/bust potential

PUBLICATION

Mike Armenti
September 13, 2023 (2:06 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Once upon a time, Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon formed a pretty dangerous duo during their time together with the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads. When both became top-3 draft picks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, they were viewed as potential franchise cornerstones - MacKinnon at center and Drouin on the wing. Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Lightning, only one of these players turned into a franchise cornerstone and it wasn't 3rd overall pick Jonathan Drouin.

Drouin played just 3 seasons in Tampa before being shipped off to the Montreal Canadiens in a trade that saw Mikhail Sergachev heading to the Sunshine State. After spending 6 seasons in Montreal, Drouin found himself on the UFA market his summer, signing a 1-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, setting the stage for a potential reunion with MacKinnon.

With Drouin struggling to stay healthy over the past several seasons and a career high of just 53 points, which came back in 2018-19, at first it didn't appear all that likely that Drouin and MacKinnon would play together. However, line rushes on September 8th did, in fact, have Drouin slotted in next to MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the top line.

Already, we are looking at a line of Drouin-MacKinnon-Rantanen. This one could be scary if Drouin can do his thing. #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/IVrIe6Kvr0� Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) September 8, 2023

Whether or not they remain together this season will be up to the two of them. With MacKinnon, there are no question marks. He is one of the league's elite players. For Drouin, on the other hand, there are plenty of doubts. If they can rediscover some of the magic they had shown during their time together in their junior days, the Avs may have plucked an absolute gem out of the free agent market for under $900K. That would be a tidy piece of work.