It has just been confirmed for Jonathan Drouin's future according to insider

After a slow start to the campaign, he finished the season with 56 points, including 19 goals, in 79 games. This bodes very well for the upcoming season.

The fact is, the return of the Quebecer to the Avalanche is not so certain. As we mentioned previously, the Quebec native will surely seek a salary increase, especially considering he was quite a bargain at $825K. This raise could be problematic for GM Chris MacFarland, who might be forced to let go of the 28-year-old player.

As of now, the Avalanche have a $15.9M budget for the next season but will need to sign, including Drouin, 8 unrestricted free agents and one restricted free agent in Casey Mittelstadt. Money could very well run out sooner rather than later for MacFarland.

This is not to mention the complex case of Valeri Nichushkin and the uncertainty regarding captain Gabriel Landeskog, which could further complicate the task for the Avalanche's GM.

Nonetheless, according to Pierre LeBrun, the interest is mutual. Everything looks promising, but we know it takes more than that to reach an agreement. The price must be right for both sides. But what should that price be?

The excellent Frank Seravalli recently predicted a $20M contract over four seasons for Drouin. This would mean $5M annually on the Avalanche's salary cap, which is $500K less annually than his contract signed with the Canadiens in 2017.

The coming weeks will be very interesting to follow, especially in Colorado, which might be forced to let go of good unrestricted free agents. They can't keep all these players, especially if they seek raises.

Upcoming free agents:

Mittelstadt, Casey (RFA)
Arbitration Eligible (UFA)
Cogliano, Andrew (UFA)
Drouin, Jonathan (UFA)
Duhaime, Brandon (UFA)
Kiviranta, Joel (UFA)
Trenin, Yakov (UFA)
Johnson, Jack (UFA)
Jones, Caleb (UFA)
Walker, Sean (UFA)

Who will stay, and who will hit the free agency market? Stay tuned!