Photo Credit: The Associated Press
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin was suspended without pay by the team after he failed to report to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, for a game. He was suspended on Jan. 20 and has been for over a month.
It has been no secret that the forward did not enjoy his time with the organization. In November, the young player put in a trade request, which was made public. He had hoped to be traded by the trade deadline. Unfortunately, no trade was made at either time. Lightning GM Steve Yzerman had stated that he will only make trades to aid the team in the long run; using Drouin in a trade during the deadline was not beneficial enough for Tampa Bay to just get rid of him.
The 20 year old was reportedly sent down to the AHL for conditioning and proof that he had successfully recovered from an injury. He had played seven games with the Syracuse Crunch before failing to report to the game that caused his suspension. Drouin and his agent, used the excuse that he did not want to risk further injury by playing because they heard there was a trade close to being done. Whether there was a trade or not in the works is just speculation.
After more than a month of suspension, Drouin is expected to report to the AHL yet again. That is not to say that he will definitely not return to the NHL this season, however. The Lightning has stated that they have not ruled out using the sophomore forward as a call-up if it is necessary.
Drouin becomes a restricted free agent in 2017, but the team can try to move him in the offseason this year. If there is more tension between Drouin and management, both parties might see a trade as a means to an end. It may not be a priority for Lightning management this coming offseason because they have to re-sign major players like Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn. Even when he becomes a free agent in 2017, there are other key players to re-sign like Ben Bishop. If Tampa Bay does decide to resign Drouin as an RFA, it will be a low cost contract beneficial to their salary cap as he will be coming off an entry-level deal. Whether both parties are willing to work together is something that only the future can tell.
