couldnt afford 2nd t
Joined: Sep. 2021
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Drouin has had personal issues that the Canadiens may not have been aware of when they acquired him. They may not have even been present when he was on Tampa.
While this trade was obviously a huge loss for the Canadiens, I don't think it is always fair to judge trades based on the outcome when it is a situation where the outcome is so far removed from what reality seemed to be at the time the trade was made. Another example would be Ottawa getting Norris and Stutzle for Karlsson. Norris wasn't in the first round on a lot of team lists when he was drafted, and internally was only seen as a future 3C by the Senators. No one predicted he would pace for 40 goals. The San Jose pick had upside due to the double unprotected loophole where Ottawa inherited San Jose's protection over their 2019 pick that they traded to Buffalo for Evander Kane. Still, no one thought it would be the 3rd overall pick. The most optimistic people thought that maybe San Jose would take a step back, and it could be in that 10-15 type ballpark.
A player developing psychological issues that prevent him from playing hockey well isn't something a GM is going to have a reasonable way of vetting against, unless those issues were already known about when Montreal acquired him.
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