It’s tough to feel too much schadenfreude towards a player who wanted to be traded as much to gain playing time more than for the purposes of chasing cash, which is what happened with Johnathan Drouin, but you would likely forgive the fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning if they didn’t smile a touch inwardly at how the 2017 deal that sent Drouin to Montreal worked out.
Drouin, a highly regarded and still emerging prospect during his time with the Lightning, has flatlined with the Canadiens. His belief had been that more time in the NHL would help him develop his skills, but in truth, his statistics in the past two years aren’t far off from what they had been with Tampa Bay, and his more analytical evaluations are actually worse. Not only that, but the Lightning, presently one of the top teams in the league, acquired defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is starting to emerge as a contributor on a team that is full of talent.
Again, it’s tough to sneer down our nose at Drouin. He got what he wanted in his move to Montreal. It’s just that Tampa managed to get better without him, while it remains to see if Drouin is getting better at all.
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