Trade talk involving Tampa Bay Lightning property Jonathan Drouin is expected to pick up in the next week or so as the NHL trade deadline looms larger and larger. There's no certainty that Drouin will be dealt, as TSN's Bob McKenzie noted on Tuesday, but the likelihood of Lightning GM Steve Yzerman shipping out an asset like Drouin in exchange for a player or players that can help Tampa Bay take another run at the Cup this season seems high. Especially considering there are now about 10 to 15 teams with "significant interest" in Drouin, willing to make "significant offers."
McKenzie: "I've got to believe that there are some pretty significant offers on the table from multiple teams" for Drouin. #TBLightning
— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) February 23, 2016
The question then becomes, what is Yzerman asking for and who will be willing to meet his price?
According to McKenzie, the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets all have varying degrees of interest in the embattled forward at this point. The Montreal Canadiens have been suggested as a landing spot in the past, and the Minnesota Wild were said to have interest at one point. But landing Drouin won't be easy and may be better served for a team planning for the future.
Yes, Drouin is talented, but he lacks almost any NHL production on which to base his value or project his future. Through 89 games with the Lightning between this season and last, Drouin collected 6 goals and 40 points. They're not bad totals, but for a player once taken third-overall, they're certainly not in line with what Yzerman or the rest of the league's GMs likely think or once thought he was capable of.
The Senators and Canucks remain playoff hopefuls, even if the reality of their situations says otherwise. Neither have been eliminated from contention, but it's becoming clearer with each passing game that none of the three teams has a legitimate shot at the NHL playoffs. The Jets on the other hand are finished and fading fast. For any of these teams, acquiring Drouin would represent an attempt to upgrade the roster for next season and beyond, but plucking him from Yzerman, the Lightning's notoriously gritty negotiator, won't be easy.
Tampa Bay has long sought upgrades on the blueline and while a pro player was part of Yzerman's initial ask, it's been reported that he's dropped that to something involving a top prospect or two. Unfortunately, the Canucks are thin on the back end of their prospect pool, with the likes of Andrey Pedan, Ben Hutton and Jordan Subban leading the depth chart.
Already, Yzerman has apparently asked the Senators for Thomas Chabot and/or Colin White, but Bryan Murray has said "no thanks." If Murray's willing to move on either of those players, that could open up talks, but it seems unlikely at this point.
And the Jets probably don't want to give up on Josh Morrisey, though maybe a player like Jan Kostalek or Sami Niku could be part of a larger deal.
Ultimately, what Yzerman wants most is to strengthen his team now. Adding a prospect won't do that, so it's unlikely that he'll be willing to enact a deal for an unproven NHL talent or talents unless said talent is of the elite variety.
Drouin may very well end up being dealt ahead of the deadline later this month, but with about a week to go, it sure sounds like the market may not be as robust as Yzerman (or Drouin) had hoped.
But in an NHL world where things change quickly, that may not be the case for long.
