The Tampa Bay Lightning don't have to trade Jonathan Drouin, but after the former third-overall pick made it clear that he'd prefer to be shipped to another NHL home, it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see Lightning GM Steve Yzerman flip him for assets or players that would presumably enjoy being a member of the organization going forward. Of course, that assumes that Yzerman will be presented with a trade offer that he views as commensurate to Drouin's value, which at this point, with Drouin still representing unfulfilled potential more than anything, is no small feat.
A report Wednesday night, during all the trade craziness overtaking the league, from Brian Wilde of CTV, indicated that the Montreal Canadiens were "aggressively" pursuing Drouin. Wilde didn't elaborate on that, but it sure makes it sound like the Habs are at the top of the list of teams pushing Yzerman to let Drouin go. And it makes sense. The Habs could certainly make good use of a talented young forward with decent size. In 70 games last year for the Lightning, Drouin notched four goals and 32 points. The year before, playing with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, Drouin absolutely destroyed the competition to the tune of 29 goals and 108 points in just 46 games.
In short, the Habs and GM Marc Bergevin probably would be all-too-happy to take Drouin off Yzerman's hands. But to hear another plugged-in NHL media member tell it, they're not the only ones. And further, they're not the only ones probably pushing "aggressively" for a deal at this point.
"There's a lot of teams - I can count more than a dozen teams that have varying degrees of interest in Drouin," TSN's Bob McKenzie said Thursday, while appearing on Montreal's TSN 690, per Today's Slap Shot. "I mean, I could say the same thing about the Ottawa Senators. The Ottawa Senators aggressively would like to get Jonathan Drouin, and I don't think they're getting off the mark with the Tampa Bay Lightning any more than the Montreal Canadiens will."
As McKenzie notes, Yzerman is likely leery of trading Drouin because of his immense potential. Watching Drouin flourish after being dealt, a la Tyler Seguin, would be painful. Watching him flourish with a team in the Lightning's own division, would be like a knife in the heart.
"In order for Tampa to live with the prospect of that, the offer that Montreal or Ottawa or any team within the Atlantic Division would have to come up with would have to be light years better than anybody else," McKenzie said. "And when Jonathan Drouin gets traded, I firmly believe that it's much more likely - not 100 percent guaranteed - but much more likely to be in the Western Conference than the Eastern Conference."
But again, just as those in and around the league had suggested that the Philadelphia Flyers would never be able to unload Vinny Lecavalier and his bloated contract, you can never say never where a potential NHL trade is concerned.
Drouin is likely to be dealt at some point - McKenzie suggests it could come as soon as "next week" - but it probably won't be to the Habs or the Senators or any team in the Atlantic. Then again...
