Jonathan Drouin apparently bullied… by his own teammates in disturbing report

There is a lot in this report and we hope none of it is true. As you know, Montreal Canadiens’ Jonathan Drouin returned to action in October after stepping away last season due to issues brought on by anxiety. He missed the entire Canadien’s run to the Stanley Cup final, which they ended up losing in five games to the Lightning in Tampa Bay. It was clear that Drouin’s mental health needed a break from all of the pressure that has been placed on his shoulders. Fans were impressed when he came out and return with fight in his game.

However on Monday, former goalie coach Stephane Waite made a disturbing comment on the podcast “Sortie de Zone” in which he revealed comments reportedly made out of the Canadiens’ dressing to Drouin as he struggled with mental health. Sure, Drouin is not as productive as he was back in Tampa Bay, but according to Waite, his lack of offense was once a joke in the dressing room. This is what Waite said on the podcast, translated from French:

“We were even doing joking about it inside [the dressing room]. We said in a joke: come on, does Jo have a clause in his contract that [prevents] him from scoring? Sometimes he had incredible scoring chances, but no, he was looking to pass. Almost like he’s looking to make friends on the team. “

Following the comments, Drouin’s agent Allan Walsh posted on his Twitter account a reaction to the former Habs goalkeeper coach. Walsh claims Waite is unprofessional and is desperate for attention.

We have to agree with him.

The Canadiens have struggled mightily in 2021-22, but Drouin has still managed to record 14 points in 23 games. He is back on the roster with a smile and a desire to make a difference, despite his name recently coming up in trade talks since GM Marc Bergevin was fired and Jeff Gorton was appointed the role of Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations in Montreal.

While Waite makes it hard to believe anything that comes out of his mouth - he who doubted earlier this season that his former player Carey Price would be struggling with any type of addiction - it is disturbing to even imagine that some teammates would poke fun at a guy struggling to find the back of the net.

It can happent to anyone and teammates should be supportive. Oh and Waite should shut up…