Avalanche add speed, depth on offense, sign Wood, Drouin
Wood inked a six-year deal with the Avalanche worth $2.5 million per season. Drouin will join Colorado on a one-year pact with a value of $825,000.
Colorado also announced a two-year extension for defenseman Bowen Byram. He was the Avalanche’s first-round draft pick (fourth overall) in 2019 and has produced 15 goals and 43 points in 91 NHL games to date. The 22-year-old was limited to just 43 games last year as he dealt with injury issues.
The Avalanche know Byram and the team’s other young core players will be an important part of the club returning to Stanley Cup champion form. That’s why surrounding them with veterans like Wood and Drouin was a priority.
A 2013 fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils, Wood, 27, had 13 goals and 27 points last season, and managed to dress for 76 games. In 2021-22, injuries limited him to just three games, but he played in parts of eight seasons with the Devils, posting 78 goals and 148 points.
New Jersey gave Wood permission to speak with other clubs ahead of free agency.
Among the speedier forwards on the market this summer, Wood has the quickness, tenacity and goal-scoring skill to make an impact next season on a second or third line. Injuries have often interrupted his efficiency, but when healthy, Wood can be a difference-maker up front.
His speed will always allow him to get in front of the net off the rush and create havoc. And he even saw some power-play time last season, adding two goals with the man-advantage, as the Devils secured a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.
Wood was born in Buffalo, New York, where his father, Randy, scored 60 goals in three seasons playing for the Sabres. He played last season on a one-year, $3.2 million contract.
Meanwhile, Drouin will be looking for a fresh start with the Avalanche, and he’ll have a familiar face nearby to do it with, reuniting with former junior hockey teammate Nathan MacKinnon.
The 28-year-old Drouin has not lived up to his lofty status as a No. 3 overall choice by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2013, and he finished last season with two goals and 29 points for a Montreal Canadiens team that was playing out the string.
Seemingly caught up in a numbers game, and tangled in between several coaching changes in Montreal, Drouin struggled to find a fit in his first six seasons with the Canadiens, who acquired him in a headline-worthy deal in 2017. The Lightning received prospect Mikhail Sergachev, who developed into a defensive anchor for Tampa Bay’s title teams, in exchange for Drouin.
The 6-foot left wing scored 18 goals in 2018-19 for Montreal, but failed to reach double digits the next four seasons. His career high — 21 tallies — came with Tampa Bay in 2016-17. But goal-scoring potential is at a premium among wingers this free-agent season, and though Drouin has many critics around the league, he figured to attract interest as a second- or third-line option for teams looking for value up front.
One thing he won’t bring with him to his new team, is winning pedigree. Drouin missed Tampa Bay’s championship runs, and though the Canadiens landed in the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, he hasn’t made the playoffs since, and is a career minus-86 player.