Montreal Canadiens: Five Worst Trades Since 2000

#4: Mikhail Sergachev traded for Jonathan Drouin

The Habs completely renovated their left defence in the summer of 2017 and pretty much every decision was a wrong one. Trading their top prospect was an odd decision for a team that had just lost in the first round of the playoffs and was losing Andrei Markov to free agency.

They acquired a good player in Drouin, but tried to turn him into a centre, thinking he could fill the role of first line centre that was a need in the city for many years. That didn’t work, and while Drouin remains a valuable player, the Habs are just now possibly putting together a decent group of left defencemen.

Sergachev, meanwhile, it developing into quite a defender for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has increased his ice time dramatically each year with the Bolts, playing over 20 minutes per game this season. He scored 34 points in 70 games.

Drouin had 15 points in his first 18 games of the season but was injured. He returned but was clearly not himself after being off the ice for months. In a vacuum, trading Sergachev for Drouin is not an awful trade, though it still favours the Lightning. When you consider the Habs biggest need is left defence and they thought Drouin played a different position than he actually does, it makes it a poor deal for the Canadiens.