Montreal Canadiens: Season Expectations for Jonathan Drouin
The Montreal Canadiens paid a big price to acquire Jonathan Drouin earlier this summer. What can they expect from him this season?
In what turned out to be one of the biggest trades of the off-season, the Montreal Canadiens acquired Jonathan Drouin and a conditional 2018 6th round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning, in exchange for Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional 2018 2nd round pick.
The Quebec-native’s time in Tampa Bay was filled with turmoil. Reports of a trade request became public in January of 2016, sending the hockey community into a frenzy. Through all of the drama, Drouin posted 14 points in 19 appearances for the Lightning in the postseason.
Drouin was one of the lone bright spots for the Lightning in the rough 2016-2017 season. The 22-year-old winger scored 54 points in 73 games playing in a larger role for the club.
Drouin’s Playing Style
For starters, Jonathan Drouin is regarded as one of the NHL’s elite young talents. His explosive skating and nifty hands have created highlight reel goals.
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Some skilled players get criticized for not going into corners to battle, but Drouin does not fall into that common stereotype. The 5’11” winger has no problem getting into the dirty areas, and more often than not, comes away with the puck.
While possessing the puck, Drouin has a great hockey IQ. His exceptional vision and creativity naturally makes him more of a playmaker than a sniper.
Drouin’s Advanced Metrics
Drouin’s individual per 60 rates can be found here. One stat that may cause concern is his drop in points/60 from 1.93 in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 to 1.45 in 2016-2017. A reason for this drop is heavily influenced by his teammates. Last season, Drouin’s most common 5v5 line-mates were Valtteri Filppula, Brian Boyle, and Alex Killorn.
Drouin’s on ice metrics have been exceptional during his stint with Tampa Bay. While on the ice, the Lightning owned more shot attempts, scoring chances, and goals compared to when he was not on the ice – another sign of how dominant of a player Drouin is.
Possible Line-mates
There has been some speculation that Drouin could slot in as a center for the Habs. While it is not unimaginable, he will most likely play on the left wing. Playing alongside Alex Galchenyuk would make sense. Both players have tremendous skill, and would benefit from receiving a high amount of offensive zone starts.
Placing Artturi Lehkonen on the other wing would be a scary sight for opposing teams. While being utilized as a defensive player, Lehkonen scored 15 5v5 goals in his rookie season. The 22-year-old Finn can stabilize this line defensively, and finish plays that Drouin or Galchenyuk have created.
Related Story: Projecting the 2017-2018 Roster
Scoring Expectations
With a higher quality of 5v5 teammates, it is almost a guarantee that Drouin’s 5v5 points/60 will see an increase from last season. As a lock on the first power play, he will have plenty of opportunities to pad his point total feeding the puck to Shea Weber on a one-timer.
If Drouin plays about 14 5v5 minutes a night and returns to about 1.93 points/60, he will have 37 5v5 points. Add on to that power play points, and Drouin’s point total should reach around 60 for the Montreal Canadiens.
If Drouin plays an 82 game season, his stat line could look something like this :
25 goals – 35 assists – 60 points
Next: Trading For Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Stats used are from naturalstattrick , hockeyviz , and hockey-reference