On the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jonathan Drouin …
- Bob McKenzie of TSN: It may be difficult for the Lightning to put Jonathan Drouin back in their lineup. If GM Steve Yzerman doesn’t get the fair-value offer he wants, he might not have much of choice. Drouin doesn’t have much leverage in the situation.McKenzie thinks that upwards of 12 teams have varying degrees of interest in Drouin. Among the interested teams in alphabetical order: Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets.Some teams may only be kicking tires. Would be surprising if the Lightning traded Drouin within the division, and even within the Eastern Conference. One Eastern Conference executive.
“He’s going to the West unless an Eastern team makes the very best offer.”
Yzerman could go in several directions – a young player of similar value like Sam Bennett (CGY) and Bo Horvat (VAN) – though the Flames and Canucks may not want to go down that road. Yzerman could also look for a team need, like a puck-moving defenseman. The Ducks, Blues, Predators and Jets may be trade options. (Predators mention was before Jones-Johansen trade)
- Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: There are reports that the Rangers and Canucks are among the teams interested in Jonathan Drouin. The Lightning only have about $2 million in salary cap space, so they are somewhat limited on what they can take back.If teams would be interested in taking on Matt Carle’s $5.5 million salary cap hit as well, they could open up more options. The Lightning haven’t asked Carle if he’d be willing to waive his no-movement clause.The Lightning don’t plan on just giving Drouin away.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: St. James thinks the Red Wings should check in with Lightning GM Steve Yzerman and see what it would take for the Wings to trade for Jonathan Drouin.Drouin’s entry-level salary cap hit makes him even more intriguing. Drouin’s future potential is what will drive up the cost to trade for him. Divisional trades are not easy to make.St. James notes that when the Blue Jackets were shopping Rick Nash back in 2012-13, the starting package they asked for included Valtteri Filppula, Justin Abdelkader and a 1st round pick.
The Lightning may be looking for right-handed defenseman. The Wings have Alexey Marchenko and Ryan Sproul. They could include Tomas Jurco in a package. Other young defenseman the Red Wings have in the system include Xavier Ouellet, Nick Jensen and Vili Saarijarvi.