The Ottawa Senators are, in fact, interested in the Tampa Bay Lightning's Jonathan Drouin, but only if the asking price drops. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun delved into the trade talk surrounding Drouin and the Sens on Friday and revealed that Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman may be asking for a return few would call sane, let alone fair.
"At this time, Ottawa doesn't have any interest in giving up either of its top prospects - Thomas Chabot or Colin White as part of the deal - and that may be the asking price," wrote Garrioch.
"If that changes, then there's a possibility trade talks could heat up."
That's a pretty big "if" considering Yzerman's reputation as a hardline negotiator, though, interestingly enough, Garrioch suggests that Yzerman would "like to get a deal done as quickly as possible."
Yzerman has, since Drouin's trade request in November went public, remained adamant that while he'd seek out a deal he would only pull the trigger on something he considered beneficial to both sides. As with the New York Islanders and Travis Hamonic, finding commensurate value in-season is never easy. The Isles want to win and they want to win now, so moving Hamonic for picks or prospects isn't worth it. Just like the Lightning and Yzerman, though Garrioch also suggests that Yzerman has become increasingly willing to talk top prospects.
For Tampa Bay, giving up an asset like Drouin, one who presumably hasn't yet scratched the surface of his NHL potential and has appeared in just 89 games at the professional level, is probably only worthwhile if they can get back an NHL player, specifically on the blueline, who can help them with a Cup run, or maybe, if nothing else develops, an elite prospect expected to hit the league as soon as next season.
The Senators, still in the thick of things in the Atlantic, probably aren't interested in giving up one of their NHL defensemen and they're almost certainly not willing to give up Chabot or White.
In the end, it may very well come down to Yzerman's willingness to sit on Drouin versus Murray's belief in Drouin's readiness and his desperation to make a playoff run.
