Jonathan Drouin's position with the Avalanche is already the talk of the town
The Avalanche has had a difficult season with injuries. Although nothing like the Habs, it hasn't been any easier. Their captain hasn't played all season, and he won't touch the ice in 2023-24 either.
When Charles Hudon and Alex Galchenyuk end up in the starting line-up of a supposedly aspiring team, it doesn't look good. However, the additions of Jonathan Drouin and Ryan Johansen should stabilize their attack, provided the Quebecer stays healthy.
On this subject, renowned Avalanche journalists Drew Livingstone and Peter Baugh have weighed in on what the trios might look like for the upcoming campaign. Let's just say that Jonathan Drouin's position is causing quite a stir.
The Avalanche lineup would look like this...
Drouin-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Lehkonen-Johansen-Nichushkin
Wood-Colton-O'Connor
Cogliano-Meyers-Olofsson
Toews-Makar
Byram-Manson
Girard-Johnson
Georgiev
Francouz
Drouin-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Lehkonen-Johansen-Nichushkin
Wood-Colton-O'Connor
Cogliano-Meyers-Olofsson
Toews-Makar
Byram-Manson
Girard-Johnson
Georgiev
Francouz
In other words, Jared Bednar would put Drouin in a place to succeed right from the start. Of course, knowing MacKinnon's history with him, it's only fair.
As we saw in Montreal, Jonathan is a very creative player, but he has to play with very good players. He's not the one who's going to make the others better. Placed with one of the league's most productive players, he could have the best season of his career.
We hope so!
Avalanche projected lineup with current roster:
Drouin - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Lehkonen - Johansen - Nichushkin
Wood - Colton - O'Connor
Olofsson - Meyers - Cogliano
Toews - Makar
Byram - Manson
Girard - Malinski
MacDermid
Cap space remaining: $7.5M but need to sign Colton- Drew Livingstone (@ProducerDrew_) July 2, 2023
#Avs lineup could look something like...
Drouin-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Lehkonen-Johansen-Nichushkin
Wood-Colton*-O'Connor
Cogliano-Meyers*-Olofsson
Toews-Makar
Byram-Manson
Girard-Johnson
Georgiev
Francouz
*RFA
The team will still have a bit of money after signing RFAs.- Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) July 2, 2023
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 5 | 185 ANSWERS Jonathan Drouin's position with the Avalanche is already the talk of the town Do you think Jonathan Drouin will have the best season of his career in Colorado? | ||
| Yes | 101 | 54.6 % |
| No | 84 | 45.4 % |
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