What do you need to see from Drouin to give him another year

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Created by: jonh514

Team: 2023-24 Montreal Canadiens

Initial Creation Date: Mar. 4, 2023

Published: Mar. 4, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Description

I've got to admit I'm torn. When Drouin was putting up 50 pts/season with all the most privileged ice time that he did not earn I hated him. It really felt like Michel Therrien and Claude Julien gave him a free ride because of his pedigree.

Now this has not been an amazing season for him by any stretch, but there's a few encouraging things:

1) The past 20 games since he "got healthy", he's been consistently good in a secondary scoring role
2) He is actually competing and winning 2nd and 3rd chances through his compete level and opposed to waiting for his line mates to do the work and hanging on the perimeter like Hoffman
3) He "seems more coachable" and seems to accept whatever role he's given
4) He's just had the "hardest knock" of his career in that NO ONE wanted him at HALF SALARY for a 6th round pick, and he came back swinging with 2 points last night as opposed to throwing a tantrum like he did at the start of his deal when things didn't go his way

I know we're all "sick of him" after 6 years, but what would you need to see from Jo to consider having him back next year between now and the end of the season. Here's what I was thinking:

1) Plays ALL of the next 20 games (stays healthy and keeps earning his spot consistently)
2) Puts up 0.5 PPG over those games including minimum 4 more goals (we cannot have a player with a 1.89 shooting percentage in an offensive role)
3) Does not revert to being a purely perimeter player. I liked seeing him score a greasy goal in from of the net last night

Would you give him an affordable 1 year deal next season to "prove it"? After all, we seem to be all about the reclamation projects (how many of you wanted Pool Party and are happy we have Gurianov?) Why not see Jo as our "own reclamation project"?

Free Agent Signings

UFA		YEARS	CAP HIT
Drouin, Jonathan		1	$1,500,000

Buyouts

Karl Alzner: $833,333

Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2023
2024
2025

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

EMBED

TEXT-EMBED

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
17	$83,500,000	$60,561,666	$1,170,000	$4,195,000	$22,938,334

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Hoffman, Mike $4,500,000$4,500,000 LW UFA - 1	Suzuki, Nick $7,875,000$7,875,000 C UFA - 7	Anderson, Josh $5,500,000$5,500,000 RW, LW M-NTC UFA - 4
Pitlick, Rem $1,100,000$1,100,000 LW, RW UFA - 1	Dvorak, Christian $4,450,000$4,450,000 C M-NTC UFA - 2	Armia, Joel $3,400,000$3,400,000 RW, LW UFA - 2
Drouin, Jonathan $1,500,000$1,500,000 LW, RW UFA - 1	Dach, Kirby $3,362,500$3,362,500 C, RW RFA - 3

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
Matheson, Michael $4,875,000$4,875,000 LD M-NTC UFA - 3	Savard, David $3,500,000$3,500,000 RD UFA - 2	Allen, Jake $1,925,000$1,925,000 G M-NTC UFA - 2
Edmundson, Joel $875,000$875,000 LD/RD M-NTC UFA - 1	Barron, Justin $925,000$925,000 ($275,000$275K) RD RFA - 1	Montembeault, Samuel $1,000,000$1,000,000 G UFA - 1
Guhle, Kaiden $863,333$863,333 ($420,000$420K) LD/RD RFA - 2	Kovacevic, Johnathan $766,667$766,667 RD UFA - 2
Harris, Jordan $1,400,000$1,400,000 LD/RD RFA - 2

Scratches	Injured Reserve (IR)	Long Term IR (LTIR)
	Gallagher, Brendan $6,500,000$6,500,000 RW, LW M-NTC, NMC UFA - 4	Price, Carey $10,500,000$10,500,000 G NMC UFA - 3
	Evans, Jake $1,700,000$1,700,000 C UFA - 2
	Slafkovsky, Juraj $950,000$950,000 ($3,500,000$4M) RW, LW RFA - 2
	Xhekaj, Arber $828,333$828,333 LD/RD RFA - 1
	Wideman, Chris $762,500$762,500 RD UFA - 1

Mar. 4, 2023 at 9:42 a.m.

habitantlecolon

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I'd rather go with a younger or try someone else for both Drouin and Monahan than try and break the pace once more

jonh514 liked this.

Mar. 4, 2023 at 9:43 a.m.

drambui

Joined: Feb. 2022

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i dont think drouin wants to be back. too much pressure for him

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

jonh514

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Quoting: drambui

i dont think drouin wants to be back. too much pressure for him

I hear you. But on. the other hand, I don't think he wants to leave the NHL either. No playoff team felt he could be a valuable contributor. That means there's at least a 50% chance he does not find a contract in the NHL in the offseason. I think he will do what he has to to prove he still has what it takes. He's showing it these past 20 games, he wants to be seen as an NHL caliber forward.

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

jonh514

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Quoting: habitantlecolon

I'd rather go with a younger or try someone else for both Drouin and Monahan than try and break the pace once more

So there is nothing Dru could do to convince you to give him another year?

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:05 a.m.

drambui

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Quoting: jonh514

he was also very expansive. a playoff team could definitly give him a chanche on a low cost contract they could bury.

jonh514 liked this.

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:09 a.m.

littlejerryseinfeld

Joined: Nov. 2017

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Drouin should take a 1 year deal in a non pressure cooker market.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:10 a.m.

habitantlecolon

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Quoting: jonh514

So there is nothing Dru could do to convince you to give him another year?

i'm convinced that media pressure will kill him if we give him another year. The guy is too shaky for NHL anymore

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:11 a.m.

littlejerryseinfeld

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Quoting: jonh514

The offseason is a whole different animal as roster spots open due to free agency etc. Teams could take a flier on him without giving up an asset (think every non playoff team too)

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:28 a.m.

ricochetii

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Edited Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:34 a.m.

Drouin has had plenty of opportunity to earn a contract. He simply does not engage with enough frequency and that is the biggest issue with his play.
He creates his own time and space by actively avoiding opposing players' space. Too often he's within one pace of the puck and simply does not make an effort, or he lets another player get within a pace of him and loses the puck because they make that extra effort to engage.
It's like he thinks he's fragile so he doesn't do anything which might possibly get him injured (playing scared). Maybe he does have something physical to make him think that way (glass wrists) or maybe it's a mental block, but there's no quick fix and he's not going to suddenly figure it out by staying here.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.

#10

KingMurray

Joined: Apr. 2022

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Someone will take a flyer on him at 1.5 mil.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:40 a.m.

#11

jonh514

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Quoting: KingMurray

Someone will take a flyer on him at 1.5 mil.

Why not the Habs?

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:44 a.m.

#12

jonh514

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Quoting: ricochetii

But he kinda "has" shown that he's figuring it out, hasn't he? Would it surprise you that he's had 14 points in his last 18 games?

If he has another 14 over the next 20 games, would you consider him then?

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:48 a.m.

#13

jonh514

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Quoting: habitantlecolon

i'm convinced that media pressure will kill him if we give him another year. The guy is too shaky for NHL anymore

Has he EVER had more media pressure than he has right now?

Media saying how no one wants him even for a 7th round pick.
Media saying how it was selfish of him not to show up for 5.5 years and at the end of his deal say he wants to play well enough to get a place with a playoff team.
Media saying he's gonna play in Switzerland next year.

Look how he's responding: 14 points in his past 18 games!

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:49 a.m.

#14

GiggywithGibby

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I could see the Ducks taking a flyer on him with a one year prove it deal. Verbeek scouted Drouin back when Tampa drafted him, and we need a pass first playmaker for Strome on the 2nd line.

Add to the fact were a small market team with minimal press on the team, he won't be the star in the spotlight behind the kid line, and SoCal is a very nice place to live, he might be a match here.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:49 a.m.

#15

jonh514

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Quoting: drambui

he was also very expansive. a playoff team could definitly give him a chanche on a low cost contract they could bury.

25% of 2.75 is really not all that much...

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:52 a.m.

#16

jonh514

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Quoting: GiggywithGibby

I could see the Ducks taking a flyer on him with a one year prove it deal. Verbeek scouted Drouin back when Tampa drafted him, and we need a pass first playmaker for Strome on the 2nd line.

Add to the fact were a small market team with minimal press on the team, and SoCal is a very nice place to live, he might be a match here.

I liken Drouin to Benoit Pouliot. He'll never live up to his draft position, but remove that pressure and he's got some skills.

I wonder if he recovers from those wrist surgeries by next season?

Mar. 4, 2023 at 10:55 a.m.

#17

Just_A_Guess

Joined: Apr. 2021

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Nothing, I do not want him back on this team.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:01 a.m.

#18

ricochetii

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Quoting: jonh514

Production isn't the only factor to consider. He just looks terrible 95% of the time he's on the ice. I vividly recall him standing upright 3 feet away in the corner, while a defender is attempting to corral a puck sent around the boards for a good 2 seconds. Plenty of time to step forward and get a stick in there to disrupt him, but no interest in doing so. He literally just stood there and watched. This is not a rare occurrence. Even the routes he takes to block passing lanes it often seems like he's actively avoiding the correct line. There's just too much visually wrong with his play to justify keeping him solely for his ability to make an occasional slick pass when nobody is pressuring him.
He's not figuring anything out. He's going through the motions.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:02 a.m.

#19

jonh514

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Quoting: Just_A_Guess

Nothing, I do not want him back on this team.

Fair enough.

Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:04 a.m.

#20

jonh514

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Quoting: ricochetii

Understood sir. You say you dislike the way he plays and I can appreciate that.

I personally have felt that in the last 2 months he has been putting in that second effort.

Cole Caufield for example, also does not always go into the corner and prefers to wait and try and trap. We do not call him out for it. Emotions just run high on Drouin.

Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:09 a.m.

#21

drambui

Joined: Feb. 2022

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Quoting: jonh514

25% of 2.75 is really not all that much...

there is a difference between buyong a player at the deadline and signing him at the start of the season. look at kessel last year. no one wanted him at the deadline with better stat than drouin and he got a contract next year with the knights.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:23 a.m.

#22

habitantlecolon

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Quoting: jonh514

Pts are nothing to body language in front of a camera. The guy is shaky, unbalanced and fighting to keep composure.

Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.

#23

Campabee

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What do I need to see from Drouin?! I need to see him gone, he is blocking younger more consistent players with higher ceilings. Drouin is what he is, there is no sense in hanging on to him and hoping to get something more.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:32 a.m.

#24

ricochetii

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Quoting: jonh514

To be clear, I have no ill will towards Drouin. I hope for the best for him. Objectively, he's just not playing well despite his production.
While I don't think keeping him around is good for the team, I think it is also best for him to move on.

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Mar. 4, 2023 at 11:41 a.m.

#25

dgibb10

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Quoting: jonh514

no playoff team wanted to pay assets to montreal for him making between 2.75 and 5.5 million*

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