Report: Source Confirms Jonathan Drouin is on the Trade Block
Eric Engels recently reported that he has heard from an executive in the Eastern Conference that Drouin's name is "definitely out there." Are you surprised? You shouldn't be.
Since being acquired by the Canadiens in 2017, Drouin has been nothing short of underwhelming during his tenure with the Canadiens. Scoring 99 points in 158 games is... decent enough for a second-line forward, but it certainly isn't what Montreal expected when they traded top-defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev for Drouin. Top it off with a +/- of -36 and you can see where fans are coming from in saying they want him gone.
Claude Julien has tried almost everything to find Drouin a functioning set of line-mates. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki, Phillip Danault, and Jordan Weal haven't found much chemistry with the 24-year old Quebec-native, and Max Domi functioned for a while with Drouin and Andrew Shaw (who has since been traded to Chicago). At what point do the Canadiens coaching staff throw their arms up and say "well... we did our best" and send him packing?
The problem isn't his talent, he's a very crafty and skilled forward. He just seems lost as a Canadien. Making over-complicated plays over their simple but effective counterparts, his aversion to shoot on the power play makes him an easy player to guard on the penalty kill, since he'll almost always pass the puck, and he often doesn't put much effort into his game. Perhaps it's an issue of the city he's in. A Quebec native playing for Montreal comes with tonnes of pressure, especially for a player said to be an offensive stud on a team starved for goal-scoring. Maybe a change of scenery is what's best for him. It worked for Phil Kessel, didn't it?
Do you think Montreal should trade Jonathan Drouin now, or hold onto him and hope he can find his game again? Comment below.
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