Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin not a fan of the Max Domi rumours

Jonathan Drouin held his annual Golf Tournament and had somethings to say about the Montreal Canadiens market and the trade buzz around Max Domi.

Monday was the third year of Jonathan Drouin‘s Fondation du CHUM golf tournament. Not only has it been one of the milestones of the Montreal Canadiens offseason, leading into Rookie Camp, the Rookie Tournament and the eventual team training camp, but it’s also been a place for interesting quotes. And this year’s revolved around Max Domi.

It’s an understatement to say that Domi has had a buzz around him since the Habs were eliminated from the playoffs. Many fans understand it and are spending time coming up with their own trade proposals involving the 25-year-old, and others don’t see why they’re there in the first place. Drouin is one of those people.

Drouin took some time from his media availability at the tournament to talk about Domi and the trade speculation around him (quotes via Journal de Montreal)

"That’s the Montreal market. Last year he was our best player with 72 points. Everyone was ready for him to sign for eight years and $ 9 million. All of a sudden, everyone wants to get rid of him (translated)."

He’s not wrong. It is interesting how quickly the perception of Max Domi has changed. He was on an all-time high after that debut season, and it was a 180 after he struggled to produce this season.

"I do not want to say too much my way of thinking, but at some point, people will have to realize that he is an excellent player that you do not find on every street corner (translated)."

Domi’s play in the playoffs didn’t help the drop off from the regular season. He only earned three assists, which all came in a single game. It was clear that Domi was much better suited playing with players closer to his skillset as opposed to the fourth line. You can put the onus on Claude Julien there for keeping that line combination together for so long despite it not getting any on-paper results.

"Max did what he had to do. Playing on a fourth line was not easy for him. However, he had the right attitude. With Max, whether off the ice or on the ice, he’s always in a good mood. He gives energy to the group and he is there for his teammates (translated)."

It’s clear Drouin is standing up for his friend and teammate here. The perception of his abilities I don’t think has changed amongst Montreal Canadiens fans. He’s a good player, and this year shouldn’t deter anyone from that thinking.

However, you can’t deny that the writing is on the wall. It’s one thing for Domi to be a pending restricted free agent, but him choosing to move on from agent Pat Brisson, noted friend of Marc Bergevin, to Darren Ferris is not a positive sign of a healthy player-GM relationship.

The Montreal Canadiens need to improve different areas of the roster, and it looks as if Domi is going to be part of the package to do so. But it’s still nice to see Jonathan Drouin speak up for Domi after the turnaround performance he had in the playoffs. If anyone should know about poor perception in the Habs market, it’s definitely him