The New York Islanders were the center of the 2025 NHL offseason in some respects. They owned the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, selecting defenseman Matthew Schaefer. The Islanders also traded star defender Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens right before the draft.
New York didn’t make the splashiest moves off the offseason, of course. In saying this, they were involved in a lot of the more significant moves. And this trend sort of continued once NHL Free Agency opened on July 1.
The free agency market wasn’t anything special this year. Names such as Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and Mitch Marner made their decisions well before July 1. Another top free agent, Brock Boeser, elected to remain with his current team even after testing the market. It didn’t help that the overall quality of the class wasn’t particularly strong, either.
In saying this, there is one move the Islanders made that is quite intriguing. It may not bring New York a superstar level talent. However, this player could still turn out to be an effective offensive presence for the Isles moving forward. Heavy.com is naming former Colorado Avalanche star Jonathan Drouin as New York’s best free agent signing of the summer.
Jonathan Drouin Enjoying Career Resurgence
Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesJonathan Drouin hopes to continue his career resurgence with the New York Islanders.
At one point, it seemed as if Drouin was one of the brightest young stars in hockey. The new Islanders forward was drafted third overall in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He spent three seasons with Tampa before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens.
Unfortunately, Drouin never lived up to his pre-draft hype. His best offensive season came in 2016-17 with the Lightning, when he scored a still career-high 21 goals. His 53 points that season were his career high until the 2023-24 season.
Following six years with the Canadiens, Drouin became a free agent. He elected to join the Avalanche, a move that reunited him with friend and junior teammate Nathan MacKinnon. This move worked wonders for Drouin.
He did miss a significant portion of the 2024-25 campaign. However, he was quite effective overall for Colorado. He scored 30 goals and 93 points in 122 games during his time in Denver.
Drouin has shown that he still has some quality hockey left in him. He joins an Islanders team looking to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing out in 2025. He has the experience and skill to help them achieve this goal.
Drouin Checks All The Boxes For Islanders
New York didn’t add Drouin on a whim. General manager Mathieu Darche had a vision for adding a forward on the open market. And he believes Drouin checks all the boxes for his team.
“We wanted to bring in a bit of talent up front, especially to help the power play, and that’s what Jonathan Drouin is going to do,” Darche said, via NHL.com. “He can bring some offense, he’ll play in our top six, and he’s a veteran guy, too, without committing to too much term.”
Drouin could also mentor some of the younger players on New York’s roster. Simon Holmstrom, for example, is a player who could benefit from this signing. The 24-year-old Holmstrom re-signed with New York in NHL Free Agency this summer.
Drouin is not the superstar-level talent many envisioned over a decade ago. However, he is a very effective player, and he didn’t cost too much for New York. This is a good piece of business for Darche as he is looking to revamp this Islanders franchise.
Ex-Lightning, Canadiens Star Named Islanders’ Best Signing