UPDATE (Feb 11):
Loui Jean of TVA Sports: TVA has learned that the Ottawa Senators are in the thick of the race to get Jonathan Drouin. The St. Louis Blues are no longer in on Drouin.
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Renaud Lavoie said this morning that he had heard the same thing as Jean, that the Senators are now the front-runners to land Jonathan Drouin before the trade deadline.
Senators GM Bryan Murray has been saying for a while that he wants to add a forward, and he’s not interested in rentals.
“I am going to pursue something else,” Murray told Hockey Central at Noon Wednesday. “I’m not going to take a guy at the end of a contract.
“I’m not interested in getting a guy that’s a UFA at the end of the year.”
The asking price for Drouin is high.
“From my understanding, it’s costly,” Lavoie said of Yzerman’s asking price, which varies depending on the trade partner. “If they’re asking for a young D like [Ottawa’s Cody] Ceci, I’m not sure they’re not going to say yes to that.”
January 5:
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Lightning: Forward Jonathan Drouin formally asked for a trade back in November. A statement for Drouin’s agent Allan Walsh.
“On behalf of Jonathan Drouin, I formally requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning back in November. We have not said one word about this untenable situation publicly until today. It’s in everyone’s best interests that Jonathan be allowed to move on and play hockey. Let’s be clear, Jonathan loves playing for the fans in Tampa, he loves his teammates and many people within the Lightning organization have treated him well. It was his sincere intention to play in Tampa for many years.”
Lightning GM Steve Yzerman hasn’t been reached for comment yet. Drouin was recently assigned to the AHL. He’s been battling injuries for part of the season, only getting into 19 games. His demotion to the AHL was to get him some playing time.
“We take everything into account,” Yzerman said. “But we have a reason for doing it, and I believe in the reasons for doing it. Jonathan expressed to me he understands the reasons for it. So again, we want our players to succeed, and we want them to play well and put them in best position to succeed. And I believe this helps that.”
Drouin has one year left on his entry-level deal.
Joe Smith: Drouin won’t be in the Syracuse lineup today. He is scheduled to join the team on Tuesday.
Dean Brown: “With almost every GM stating he’s looking for a top 6 forward, there should be about 3 thousand Drouin trade rumors by Tuesday.”
Jim Matheson: “My guess is the teams that badly wanted to draft Drouin in 2013 will be all over his trade request.”
Joe Yerdon: “Looking at the deals for Niederreiter and Turris, you’re basically looking at a roster player and a not-first-round pick. Nino was traded for Cal Clutterbuck and a third and Turris was traded for David Rundblad and a second. Like Drouin, Turris was also a No. 3 pick in the draft. Not saying that’s what Drouin’s price will be, but that’s where the bar is.”
Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 Monday morning on the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jonathan Drouin.
“A lot of the GMs are overseas for the world junior tournament. I’ve been texting a couple – ‘What do you think?’ They’re saying the price is going to be high. I think they expect that. He’s still only 20 years old. He’s still a third overall pick. I spoke to one team yesterday that admitted that year, they had him ranked ahead of Nathan MacKinnon.
“I just feel that it’s going to be an expensive price. From what I can also tell, Tampa has looked at moving him in the past, and they’ve never found a deal that was close to what they wanted.”
Friedman on who will be interested …
“Well, the No. 1 thing I wonder is does Yzerman believe he has to send the kid West. Is that something he’s looking at, saying, ‘I don’t want this kid in the Eastern Conference making me look bad.’ So I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’m curious about it.
“There’s two teams in the East that, to me, make sense. I just don’t know what they have to make a deal with. Because they’re teams that are going to be looking for a young player who can provide offense. And those teams are Carolina and New Jersey.”
“So it’s obvious they expect a lot in return. I think a lot of teams are going to be interested. I think he’s going to be a fit in a lot of places. The problem is are teams going to look at it and say, ‘Well, we’re trading for a guy who’s got 40 points in 89 games’ as you point out, and hasn’t really been used that much, or are they going to be realistic and see that there is a 20-year-old here with a lot of potential and Tampa is not just going to give him away.
“I think everyone is going to be interested. I just don’t know – If Tampa is going to say, ‘We want something that says you’re getting a third overall pick from two years ago’ – I don’t know how many teams are going to have the ability to make that deal.”