There are obvious biases for different reasons, which is fine, people can fan however they want. I have my own, we all do.
I don't live in Quebec so I won't even pretend to understand the political aspect of how hometown players are perceived by different factions within the fan base. I don't even think or know that's been a huge factor with Drouin, I think it's just a perception/expectation thing. Something about Drouin just leaves people wanting more and for whatever reason, Domi who I find to be a very similar player in a lot of ways, at least a player with reasonably similar flaws, is pretty beloved.
I loathe NHL real time stats, the numbers are totally flawed, arbitrary and weird but Drouin has more hits than Domi, less giveaways, more takeaways and yet Domi gets no heat and Drouin is so polarizing, usually with the complaints being about his lack of physicality and his number of turnovers. Not arguing that Drouin brings a better physical game than Domi because he doesn't, just found it somewhat interesting.
Anyway, I don't really know what it is with him that bothers a large number of fans so much. Last year's debacle? Understandable but also reasonable for him being put in a new position on a zombie team to struggle, IMO. I don't really think he dogs it, I do think he makes pretty bad reads and bad decisions at times but that's just his game. Hockey sense is an important skill and his is only alright. He turns the puck over, especially on the PP but it just looks to me like the PP is poorly ran and him and Domi are basically charged with gaining the zone while everyone else stands still so yeah, it looks bad at times. The 1 on 3 stuff he does can definitely be annoying. I seem like I'm defensive of this player when really, I just think he's an important element on this team but a guy who will never be a star.
We'll see, if the production dries up again it'll be tough to justify his role. He needs to produce but when he does (and he is) it's really nice to have that high-end skill in the lineup. The Boston game is a good example, team looked like it wasn't going to break through and he does something that only he can do and it injects life into the team. You need that and yes, I'm aware that he pissed the game away being stupid but one of those issues is fixable and the skill isn't teachable. The good has been heavily outweighing the bad this season and when that changes, we can reassess IMO.