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Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin and the Postseason Turnaround

By Scott Cowan

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 12: Shea Weber #6 of the Montreal Canadiens is congratulated by teammates Jonathan Drouin #92, Jeff Petry #26,Nick Suzuki #14 and Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens after Weber scored a power play goal in the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers n Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 12, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 12: Shea Weber #6 of the Montreal Canadiens is congratulated by teammates Jonathan Drouin #92, Jeff Petry #26,Nick Suzuki #14 and Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens after Weber scored a power play goal in the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers n Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 12, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens, Jonathan Drouin
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 01: Montreal Canadiens Jonathan Drouin (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

In Game five, Drouin found himself seeing first line minutes alongside similarly hot hands Suzuki and Joel Armia, who combined for six points in the series-deciding loss. For a Canadiens’ team who received little to no offensive support from regular-season leaders like Tomas Tatar, Max Domi, and Brendan Gallagher, having players like Drouin step up was a huge help for a Habs team that managed to make what should’ve been an easy challenge for the Flyers, a tightly fought series.

In each of his three seasons in Montreal, Drouin has gone through some kind of rough patch or drought that waters down some of the more impressive and encouraging parts that make up an, on paper, solid season.

An essentially lost 2017-18 season for the Habs, in general, didn’t help matters, with Drouin spending most of the season at center, recording 46 points with a -28 rating. An impressive 53 points in a tight-knit 2018-19 season that saw Montreal just barely miss the playoffs ended with Drouin posting three points in the team’s last 20 games, ones that were essential to their post-season chances. A hot start to this season ended with an, as stated, eight-game point drought, so this post-season performance was reassuring, and once again gave Habs a glimpse into the player Drouin can be.

There’s no denying that Drouin is a very inconsistent player, and I believe its something that can’t, for the most part, be fixed or worked on, merely worked around. Some players just have natural issues with their drive, and I find it that

limits Drouin from being the elite player I, and many Canadiens fans believe he can be. With the Habs season just recently ending, trade rumors are going to be quiet for the time being, and I think Drouin should take this time to reflect on what was another up and down campaign overall.

Personally, as I said in March, I think Montreal should stick with Drouin come next year and give him another chance to prove himself as the third overall pick fans expected. He had a solid playoff year, in what was a surprising run for the Habs in general.

Next. The Habs did Trotz and the Islanders a favour. dark

Despite their struggles, the future now looks a bit brighter for the Montreal Canadiens, and I believe that Jonathan Drouin could be a reason why.

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