Canadiens Off-Season Target: Jonathan Drouin
The Canadiens will be on the hunt for offence this off-season and a prime target could bring a local kid home.
Their is no denying that Jonathan Drouin is a very talented young hockey player and that his future is very bright. However, a public falling out with the Tampa Bay Lightning and subsequent suspension has put into question if his future will continue in Tampa.
Prior to the trade deadline, it was reported the Canadiens went hard after Drouin but a trade failed to materialize. Many have speculated the reason for the non-trade was due to Steve Yzerman’s potential asking price of Alex Galchenyuk. That is a complete non-starter for the Canadiens as Galchenyuk has proven to be the superior NHL talent thus far while also possessing far more trade value than Drouin.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about Drouin the player. As a junior player for the Halifax Mooseheads, Drouin was a prolific scorer, posting back to back 100-point seasons and averaging 1.89 points per game in his 3 seasons. Even more impressive was Drouin’s playoff proficiency. Drouin scored a staggering 102 points across 50 playoff games, culminating in a QMJHL Championship and a Memorial Cup Championship in 2012-13.
Drouin was drafted 3rd overall in 2013, going ahead of some pretty decent players such as Seth Jones(4th), Sean Monahan(6th), Rasmus Ristolainen(8th) and Bo Horvat(9th). To this point, Drouin has played just 91 NHL games and registering just 8 goals and 42 points. He just recently turned 21 years old and his future is still very bright.
More from A Winning Habit
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
As mentioned, his public falling out from Tampa is what has led to his name being thrown around in trade rumors. Yzerman lifted his suspension a few weeks ago and Drouin returned to the AHL Syracuse Crunch where he posted 9 goals in 10 games before getting called up to the Lightning. In the final two games for the Lightning, Drouin posted two goals, including one against the Canadiens in the season finale.
How He Fits the Canadiens
Drouin is a scoring winger and should see significant time in the top 6 and on the power play for any team he plays for. For the Canadiens, Drouin would slide in perfectly on the 2nd line, likely next to Tomas Plekanec. Much like I discussed with Nail Yakupov, the benefits of a skilled, young winger like Drouin would help give Plekanec a scoring option and balance out the Canadiens 2nd line. On the flip side, Plekanec would be a good mentor to help Drouin develop his defensive game.
Drouin’s offensive creativity would be a welcome addition to a Canadiens power play that over-relies on it’s defense to generate scoring chances. With the Canadiens also heavily relying on the same five forwards on the power play, finding that 6th forward to solidify the second unit has proven problematic. An astounding 13 forwards saw some time there this season alone. This has stagnated the entire power play as the 2nd unit has been unable to relieve the pressure off the primary unit.
One obvious issue with Drouin, and something that has plagued him during his time in Tampa, is that his defensive game still needs a lot of work. In fact, Drouin’s defensive contributions are only slightly better than Nail Yakupov though that comes in a much smaller sample size.
Related Story: Canadiens Should Not Trade P.K. Subban
The Potential Canadiens-Lightning Trade
This is a tough trade to gauge for a few reasons, one of them being an attempt to quantify Drouin’s trade value after such a roller-coaster season. The other being the fact the Canadiens and Lightning play in the same division. Both of these factors complicate any potential trades.
Back at the trade deadline, I was a firm believer that a trade of Charles Hudon and one of the Canadiens 2nd round picks for Drouin would have been a fair trade for both sides. At the time I believed it made sense for Tampa as they would have gotten a similar aged prospect who has had success at the AHL level and is defensively responsible plus receiving a 2nd round pick.
Since then, a lot has changed. Drouin has gone on a nice run since his suspension which has led to him filling Steven Stamkos‘ shoes in the final two regular season games and now the playoffs. This is obviously a very small sample size but it is also the very first time in Drouin’s pro career that he has shown his true ability as a top 6 forward.
This run could also be enough of a showcase that a team could dangle a mid to low 1st round pick, doubly so if the team has multiple 1st rounders. It may have also convinced the Lightning that Drouin is ready to take over Steven Stamkos, who may leave in July.
Tampa likely isn’t in the market for players with any sort of salary or term on their contracts. Essentially the entire Bolts forward core are due for new contracts this off-season or next and they also have to ensure they have cap space to re-sign Victor Hedman and Ben Bishop who are both due to hit UFA status after next season.
Next: Canadiens Off-Season Target: Nail Yakupov
With all of this said, it’s probably going to take an overpay by the Canadiens to acquire Drouin and that could involve a package of Michael McCarron, Charles Hudon and and one, or both, of their 2nd round picks and even that might not be enough. I would rather not deal McCarron but that is likely the price to pay to acquire Drouin at this point, especially if a bidding war erupts. Anything more than this package and I would hope the Canadiens pass and look elsewhere to fill their offensive void.