The St. Louis Blues placed left winger Jonathan Drouin on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract on Tuesday.

Drouin, 31, had one season left on a two-year contract carrying a $4-million cap hit. St. Louis acquired him at the March 6 trade deadline from the New York Islanders in the Brayden Schenn deal.

A buyout is expected to count for $1,333,333 toward the Blues' cap hit in 2026-27 and 2027-28, saving the team $2,666,667 next season, according to PuckPedia.  

The other NHL teams can submit a claim for Drouin and his current contract over the next day, but if he clears waivers, he'll become a UFA in time for the first day of free agency.

In 64 games this past season, Drouin had four goals and 20 assists for 24 points. In nine games with the Blues following the trade, Drouin put up one goal and three points.

Drouin signed his current contract after spending two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche and seeing a bounce back in his production.

Following four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens in which Drouin didn't surpass 58 games or 29 points, he scored 19 goals and 56 points in 79 matches with the Avalanche in 2023-24. Although injuries limited Drouin to 43 games in 2024-25, he still had 11 goals and 37 points.

Early in his career, Drouin recorded 53 points in 2016-17 with the Tampa Bay Lightning and in 2018-19 with the Canadiens. The third overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft has 111 goals and 287 assists for 398 points in 671 career games.

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