By Mark Pukalo
Two wrongs may end up making
a right for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the case of Jonathan Drouin.
You read that correctly. The
issues are all out in the open now. That’s ultimately good for many reasons.
The team’s potential star
probably should have kept his trade request in-house a little longer because
injuries have made it somewhat prudent that he spend a few weeks of
conditioning in the minors. It would not have been my choice, but it is
understandable. You never like 20-year-olds making this declaration. Perhaps he
should have battled through the entirety of one more season, and then made a
decision.
That being said, the Bolts
have bungled the development of a skillful, creative player since the start of
last season. No one was asking for him to be given anything. He knew he had to
work for his top-nine minutes. The problem was, it’s difficult to earn more
time when you are playing 10-12 minutes on the fourth line and not using your
skill on a power play that was seriously lacking playmakers. Despite all that,
he led the league in assists per minute. Not for rookies. The whole freaking
league, as I told ESPN’s Scott Burnside on twitter after he called Drouin a
“major disappointment.”
Whether he should have been
in the lineup or not in the playoffs, coach Jon Cooper unnecessarily
embarrassed the third pick in the 2013 draft by relegating him to the black
aces at one point and dressing Mike Angelidis for the pregame skate instead of
him.
Drouin had a solid camp this
September and put up six points in the first five regular-season games while
playing with Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan. He was a plus-5 the first seven contests
and appeared to be screwed out of another assist in Buffalo. Drouin had a few
off games – apparently -- after the first injury and suddenly was on the fourth
line, playing 9:26 against Calgary. Perhaps, that is when the trade request
came.
The left wing had two points
against Anaheim in his first game back after sitting out for a third stretch.
He struggled in the following contest versus San Jose on Dec. 5, but was the
best player on the ice for the Lightning against the LA Kings one day later with
four shots and several nifty setups that went unfinished. Soon after, he was
injured again.
That brings us to today. Why
could it be a positive that this drama has occurred? The bolt of Lightning
could develop a better Drouin if he returns, and I think he will. He should be even more determined to prove himself. It will also force the coaches and GM Steve Yzerman to take a fresh look at what they
are doing with him – and finally get on the same page. If all else fails, it
creates a huge bidding war for a top prospect and a possible overpay (more on
that, later).
The fact that teammates
seemed to come out in support of Drouin on Monday was a major positive. There
didn’t appear to be a hint of a concern about his work ethic. Ben Bishop told the
Tampa Bay Times, “we’ll probably laugh about this (request)” some day.
After the disappointment of a demotion and getting the request off his chest, Drouin should have some
serious steam when he takes to the ice with the Syracuse Crunch on Friday in
Albany. Could we see him with Mike Peca and Adam Erne? Maybe with Jeff
Tambellini? The hope is, Drouin puts up 10 points or so in six to seven games and
he comes back to Tampa ready to make an impact, diving in for the final 35
games as things work themselves out with the lineup.
Yzerman has probably gotten
offers for Drouin before. Now he will get more. This is not a Marty St. Louis
situation. He can wait as long as he wants. He can wait to see if Drouin
changes his mind. He can say no, very easily. The only difficult thing now is the
team is up against the cap. Personally, I hope they keep him and see what
happens in the offseason. But if they are to trade him, this may be the
opportunity to free up cap space for the future. Here’s how. Hey, Colorado, you
want Drouin to play beside his buddy Nathan MacKinnon? Ok, give us a No. 1 in
2016 and you take Matt Carle’s whole contract off our hands in a package deal
that could include a few more items.
A friend of mine, who has a
good hockey mind, apparently wants me and others to bash Yzerman. While I
disagree with his hands-off approach with coaches and a few of his decisions (why
three years for Erik Condra?), Yzerman has done a great job overall. I have
confidence he knows what he has with Drouin and will do the right thing. It’s
also good that Tyler Seguin happened. It spikes fear into every NHL GM that
thinks of dealing a high pick.
Cooper may also re-evaluate
the way he puts together a lineup if the Lightning continue to wallow below the
playoff line. As I have said before, the modern-day NHL does not require two
scoring lines, a checking unit and a threesome of muckers. It’s nine forwards
with solid defensive instincts sprinkled among them and a strong checking unit
for a fourth line. Cooper seems to prefer two scoring lines and two checking
units. In my opinion, I’d go Drouin-Stamkos-Callahan, the triplets, Alex
Killorn-Valtteri Filppula-Jonathan Marchessault and a fourth unit that is
anchored by Brian Boyle with J.T. Brown, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric
Paquette around him at this point. If Marchessault continues to struggle
defensively (look it up, he’s minus-7), maybe Namestnikov or Brown can move up.
My hope is that Drouin
returns to Tampa in a few weeks and gets a substantial role while helping the
Lightning climb back into playoff position. Then, as Bishop says, we all can have
a good laugh about the last few days.
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