Rumor: Drouin reportedly on the trade block

The spotlight is burning brightly on Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin this season. The former 3rd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft has failed to live up to expectations in Montreal since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev back in 2017. 

Drouin signed a six year deal worth $5.5 million immediately upon joining the Habs and was expected to step in as the team’s top line centre. But now, after two relatively disappointing campaigns, there’s some buzz around Montreal that Drouin could find himself on the move once again. 

In his latest article for Sportsnet, Habs insider Eric Engels reports that Drouin’s name is “definitely out there” in trade talks.

Check it out:

“His name is definitely out there,” texted an Eastern Conference executive during Wednesday night’s game.

How could it not be? The Canadiens gave up a potential top-four defenceman in Mikhail Sergachev to acquire Drouin from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2017. They immediately made him their highest-paid forward with a six-year contract that carries an annual cap hit of $5.5 million. And after two mostly-disappointing seasons, with Drouin posting 99 points and a minus-36 rating over 158 games, patience has to be wearing thin if it hasn’t run out completely.

Fair to say the Canadiens would be selling low at this point. So much so that they might just be forced to hang on and pray that Drouin flips this thing upside down in a hurry. He’s such a talented player, a former third-overall pick who still has to be considered as a player with upside. A player who wants to make it work in Montreal.

At this point, it makes little sense for the Habs to trade Drouin. As Engels mentions, Drouin’s value is probably at his lowest and realistically the team would need to trade him for a replacement level player in any potential deal.

Having said that, if GM Marc Bergevin can pull off another one-for-one move like he did in the Max Domi for Alex Galchenyuk deal with Drouin, maybe there’s something to the rumors?