Jonathan Drouin’s return on the horizon?

While the entire Colorado Avalanche team dominated their first-round series over the Winnipeg Jets, they will need all the help they can get going forward against the Dallas Stars or Vegas Golden Knights. One name missing which might be coming back into the lineup is Jonathan Drouin.

Drouin missed the entire first round with a lower-body injury. It was revealed after Game Five of the series he’d gotten cut with a skate in the final regular-season game against the Edmonton Oilers. Yet again, another skate cut has set the Avalanche back, frustratingly.

As is said in the original tweet, the forward is eyeing a return late in the second round or in the Western Conference Final should the Avs advance far enough. The timeline for Drouin to return is four weeks, and we are coming up on four weeks from the cut which occurred on April 18.

We are now two weeks after the cut occurred, and he could return as early as May 16, which just might be the end of the second round depending on scheduling. Nonetheless, he hasn’t been able to play through the cut as he risks infection from the gear. But his return doesn’t seem unlikely according to head coach Jared Bednar.

Drouin would likely need to start skating with the team soon to have any chance of appearing in the coming games. It would also be unique to see if he’d slot back onto the first line with Nathan MacKinnon just based on their chemistry together before the injury, or if he plays in a middle-six role.

Nonetheless, he and a few other Avalanche team members will be utilizing this time off to get healthy and prepared for the upcoming round against whichever opponent they may see, in what will be a big showdown. They’ll need all the help they can get, and if Drouin returns, it’ll only help propel the team forward.