The Lightning were on route to Calgary Sunday morning to begin a four game road trip when Allen Walsh, agent to Jonathan Drouin, released the following statement about his client:
A statement from Jonathan Drouin's agent Allan Walsh regarding his client's future in TB: pic.twitter.com/Vhwet1IpTW
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 3, 2016
The message came a day after Drouin was sent down to the Syracuse Crunch. Given Walsh’s history of rallying for his clients on Twitter it’s safe to say this is no coincidence. There have been rumblings about a disconnect between Drouin and Lightning coach Jon Cooper for quite some time. Now the discontent has become all too public.
Later Sunday afternoon Steve Yzerman issued the following statement via press release:
“We acknowledge, via communication from his agent, Jonathan Drouin’s request to be traded. Moving forward, my sole intention is to act in the best interest of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club. In the meantime, Jonathan has been assigned to our American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and we expect him to report for practice with the rest of his teammates this Tuesday morning.”
Drouin is under contract with the Lightning until 2017. At that point they will maintain his rights as a restricted free agent. The team isn’t forced to make a move here, especially one they might regret.
A trip to the AHL is designed to give Drouin more playing time. He’s seen limited minutes with the Lightning and wasn’t subject to waivers once a healthy Ondrej Palat returned to the line up. Whether Drouin reports to the Crunch tomorrow remains to be seen. It’s a messy situation for both parties that could get messier if he doesn’t.
(Feature Photo/Christine Gunn)
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