Before the season started, did any of you have Jonathan Drouin as a player who would demand a trade during the season? The young forward has all the promise in the world and it looks like he won’t be able to live out that promise in Tampa Bay. Drouin’s agent Allan Walsh released a statement to Bob McKenzie about the particular demand.
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 statement is interesting because the player and the agent both believe that Drouin is ready to perform on an NHL team immediately. It would be hard to disagree with either of them by looking at the numbers. This tweet is especially startling when you put it into context of the other players on the list.
Players (age between 18-19y) who have had more assists at even strength in one season than Drouin since 2005: pic.twitter.com/Car6oM8mFW
— m g (@kikkerlaika) May 31, 2015
That is some pretty elite company that he is in. Could he be the outlier of the bunch? Possibly, but what is holding back the Lightning to play him the amount of time that he deserves? He is still an extremely young and valuable player in the league. The Lightning better be careful in any trade because it could end up like the Tyler Seguin situation which shows how costly it can be when a team gives up on a young player too early. Comparing to other first rounders that were sent out of town like Nino Niederreiter, Tampa Bay could be looking at a return of a roster player and a pick. Not the best for a team looking for a return on investment.
What no one else takes into consideration is the fact that just because someone demands a trade doesn’t mean that a trade will actually transpire. They still have the player under contract and can still get good use out of him. It will seemingly be a very fluid situation with a lot of moving parts.
Let the games begin.