Player Discussion Jonathan Drouin

[Le Tricolore]

I'll wait for the games to matter before judging his play. It can sometimes go hard to be motivated when you know what you do isn't important.

Insert clip of Allen Iverson talking about practice here

 

[Kriss E]

You could be right. Still, I'd rather him be one game on, one game off than just 23 games off in a row.

I know it's just pre season but I find his approach to all of this concerning. Here's a guy who was heavily criticized for having a poor end of season and he's just taking it easy in pre season. He boasted that he went over some tape and all that but he looks as bad as ever.

Yes, generally I don't care much about pre-season performances. I think they're good for kids to display some skills and how hungry they are to make the team. For the others, it's about fine tuning, shaking off the rust, and getting ready to start the year. That could be the case of KK, who's seemingly having a bit of struggles adapting to his new 15lbs heavier frame, but it's still early so let's see how he adapts moving forward.

A guy like Drouin, as you mentioned, had something to prove because he could be singled out as one of our top guys who did f-all to finish the year when we needed him to just be okay so we can make the POs. He scored 1G in his last 18GP, just 3pts. If he were able to put up 9pts therefore producing at a .5ppg, good chance we make the POs. So...it was a very disappointing end, you'd hope this guy would come in with a burning desire to redeem himself, instead we have to hear about how he already had a pep-talk with Ducharme in pre-season.
When he speaks, it doesn't sound like he thinks he has something to prove either, which is what's more concerning with him.

 

[Kriss E]

Are you defending him?

No. Just saying who he is.

 

[Kriss E]

This is accurate. The question is whether Drouin's on/off play gets worse because of the scrutiny he's under in Montreal. It's one thing for us to want him traded, it's another thing if he's fed up with the media and negative attention, and lets management know he wants out.

I hope we move him out sooner rather than later. You know it's a ticking bomb and just a matter of time before he loses his crap.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I hope we move him out sooner rather than later. You know it's a ticking bomb and just a matter of time before he loses his crap.

I would rather have him play 4th line before I trade him for cheap cause we feel we have to move him. I'd give him PP time but 5/5... let him try to earn his ice time by producing with Weal. Armia can cause some havoc on that line with his for check and puck possession down low. If the Kotkaniemi line struggles, play the Weal line more depending on the game

Tatar / Danault / Suzuki
Cousins / Domi / Gallagher
Byron / Kotkaniemi / Lehkonen
Drouin / Weal / Armia

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Could sure use a 21 year old 6”3 215 pound LD right now but what do I know

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I would rather have him play 4th line before I trade him for cheap cause we feel we have to move him. I'd give him PP time but 5/5... let him try to earn his ice time by producing with Weal. Armia can cause some havoc on that line with his for check and puck possession down low. If the Kotkaniemi line struggles, play the Weal line more depending on the game

Tatar / Danault / Suzuki
Cousins / Domi / Gallagher
Byron / Kotkaniemi / Lehkonen
Drouin / Weal / Armia

The dude is hot garbage when given minutes and you want him to earn them on the 4th line? Hahaha we should just get rid of him . I have no fear of this dude lighting it up on another team . Hell I’d be happy for him if he did but his tenure with the habs has been embarassing he looks awful out there and you’d think he would have something to prove after the mediocre season he just had

 

[Kriss E]

I would rather have him play 4th line before I trade him for cheap cause we feel we have to move him. I'd give him PP time but 5/5... let him try to earn his ice time by producing with Weal. Armia can cause some havoc on that line with his for check and puck possession down low. If the Kotkaniemi line struggles, play the Weal line more depending on the game

Tatar / Danault / Suzuki
Cousins / Domi / Gallagher
Byron / Kotkaniemi / Lehkonen
Drouin / Weal / Armia

The idea is to trade him before his value drops so low he will be sold for cheap.
And you'll never like him on the 4th, his game is not one that'll find success there.

 

[Milhouse40]

I would rather have him play 4th line before I trade him for cheap cause we feel we have to move him. I'd give him PP time but 5/5... let him try to earn his ice time by producing with Weal. Armia can cause some havoc on that line with his for check and puck possession down low. If the Kotkaniemi line struggles, play the Weal line more depending on the game

Tatar / Danault / Suzuki
Cousins / Domi / Gallagher
Byron / Kotkaniemi / Lehkonen
Drouin / Weal / Armia

After trying him pretty much everywhere and with everybody…..i don't think trying him on the 4th line with the worst players is not going to do any good for him and for his trade value.

Either trade him or put him back on the top line with Domi to keep his value up but at the end of the day, Drouin is not a keeper, he's not the type of player we are going to win with.

Time to move on.
It was a terrible trade from Bergevin.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The dude is hot garbage when given minutes and you want him to earn them on the 4th line? Hahaha we should just get rid of him . I have no fear of this dude lighting it up on another team . Hell I’d be happy for him if he did but his tenure with the habs has been embarassing he looks awful out there and you’d think he would have something to prove after the mediocre season he just had

Premature move IMO and It's not like he is grossly overpaid. I think he could play with with Weal and Armia. Like I said, I rather play him 4th line vs trade him for cheap cause you want him shipped out of town.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The idea is to trade him before his value drops so low he will be sold for cheap.
And you'll never like him on the 4th, his game is not one that'll find success there.

I don't believe his value will drop any more than it already has.

 

[Habs Halifax]

After trying him pretty much everywhere and with everybody…..i don't think trying him on the 4th line with the worst players is not going to do any good for him and for his trade value.

Either trade him or put him back on the top line with Domi to keep his value up but at the end of the day, Drouin is not a keeper, he's not the type of player we are going to win with.

Time to move on.
It was a terrible trade from Bergevin.

Nah... He is not having a great preseason but I also think we are overreacting a bit too early. The pressure we are putting on him is way too much and it shows cause I think he is playing not to make a mistake vs playing with high energy and on attack mode. Playing with confidence is his problem and is he the type to overcome the critics? Not sure but we will find out.

Look at the expectations for Drouin heading into this year vs last season? Pressure to perform clearly affects this kid IMO cause he had less pressure heading into last season. Think he had 32 pts in his first 40 games but once he made a few bone head passes in our own end, he spiraled downward with his play. He needs support but I do admit, it's hard to support his play and intensity at the moment.

It's only a matter of time before our fan base turns on Kotkaniemi as well. The passion and expectations are high within our fan base. Brings out the best and worse in players and this is no doubt in my mind the reason why some say no to Montreal. Remember a few years back when Price told us to relax after a pre-season game? Some can handle it like Price and some can't.... maybe Drouin is too passive to play for the Habs... if true, it's sad

 

[Beendair Donedat]

Could sure use a 21 year old 6”3 215 pound LD right now but what do I know

How French is he?

 

[Kriss E]

I don't believe his value will drop any more than it already has.

Well if you think hes going to keep sucking to be playing on 4th line then yea, his value will drop.
Hes still a top 6 guy who should put up around 50ish pts. He has more value now than if we start benching/scratching/using him on 4th.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Well if you think hes going to keep sucking to be playing on 4th line then yea, his value will drop.
Hes still a top 6 guy who should put up around 50ish pts. He has more value now than if we start benching/scratching/using him on 4th.

Galchenyuk's value didn't drop and he played 4th line. I also think Weal is a good fit with Drouin and although they are listed on the 4th line, they could play 3rd line minutes depending on performances and who we are playing on any given night. Stick with the lines and give the extra minutes to the PP with Drouin.

Drouin / Weal / Armia
vs
Byron / Kotkaniemi / Lehkonen

 

[Rosso Scuderia]

Nah... He is not having a great preseason but I also think we are overreacting a bit too early. The pressure we are putting on him is way too much and it shows cause I think he is playing not to make a mistake vs playing with high energy and on attack mode. Playing with confidence is his problem and is he the type to overcome the critics? Not sure but we will find out.

Look at the expectations for Drouin heading into this year vs last season? Pressure to perform clearly affects this kid IMO cause he had less pressure heading into last season. Think he had 32 pts in his first 40 games but once he made a few bone head passes in our own end, he spiraled downward with his play. He needs support but I do admit, it's hard to support his play and intensity at the moment.

It's only a matter of time before our fan base turns on Kotkaniemi as well. The passion and expectations are high within our fan base. Brings out the best and worse in players and this is no doubt in my mind the reason why some say no to Montreal. Remember a few years back when Price told us to relax after a pre-season game? Some can handle it like Price and some can't.... maybe Drouin is too passive to play for the Habs... if true, it's sad

Geez.. the poor kid. He needs supports. The expectations are too high. The pressure is too high! He lacks confidence. Yeah we are overreacting.. its way too early. He just has 2 bad season under his belt. He let his teammates down in the last stretch of last season but yeah, we should be more patient with him. Playing against those hungry AHLers might be overwhelming for our lil DrouDrou.

Mackinnon's expectation and pressure this season is to lead his team to the cup... while Drouin is already choking in preseason godammit.

 

[Kriss E]

Galchenyuk's value didn't drop and he played 4th line. I also think Weal is a good fit with Drouin and although they are listed on the 4th line, they could play 3rd line minutes depending on performances and who we are playing on any given night. Stick with the lines and give the extra minutes to the PP with Drouin.

Drouin / Weal / Armia
vs
Byron / Kotkaniemi / Lehkonen

Galch was traded for a guy who scored 18G in two years. He was moved for a young player who failed to live up to expectations, just like him.
We got lucky, Domi ended much better then expected.
I think Drouin is still valuable enough to get us significant help right now. If we wait till hes being pushed down then we will have to probably swap him for another problem player.

 

[ProspectsSTC]

He's actually gotten worse somehow

 

[Habs Halifax]

Geez.. the poor kid. He needs supports. The expectations are too high. The pressure is too high! He lacks confidence. Yeah we are overreacting.. its way too early. He just has 2 bad season under his belt. He let his teammates down in the last stretch of last season. We should be more patient with him. Playing against those hungry AHLers might be overwhelming for our lil DrouDrou.

Mackinnon's expectation and pressure this season is to lead his team to the cup... while Drouin is already choking in preseason godammit.

The point was some can handle the Montreal hero or zero mentality and some can't. Looks like Drouin can't. But yeah, beat him up when he is down... that the best strategy right? Keep up the good work man! Nobody has noticed what you noticed so we are lucky to have a fellow fan like you who bring us to our senses and force us to join your hate bandwagon.

Works two ways with the optimistic vs pessimistic approach. We are even and for the record, I was just trying to explain what I think is happening through Drouin's eyes. Try putting yourself in other peoples shoes for example.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Galch was traded for a guy who scored 18G in two years. He was moved for a young player who failed to live up to expectations, just like him.
We got lucky, Domi ended much better then expected.
I think Drouin is still valuable enough to get us significant help right now. If we wait till hes being pushed down then we will have to probably swap him for another problem player.

Doesn't change the fact that Galchenyuk's value was not reduced cause he was being treated like Drouin today due to his play on the ice where we played him all over the line-up... including the 4th line.

I repeat, I rather play him with Weal and Armia before I trade him for cheap cause we want him shipped out of town. That's not smart asset management and your frustration gets the best of you.

 

[Rosso Scuderia]

The point was some can handle the Montreal hero or zero mentality and some can't. Looks like Drouin can't. But yeah, beat him up when he is down... that the best strategy right? Keep up the good work man! Nobody has noticed what you noticed so we are lucky to have a fellow fan like you who bring us to our senses and force us to join your hate bandwagon.

Works two ways with the optimistic vs pessimistic approach. We are even and for the record, I was just trying to explain what I think is happening through Drouin's eyes. Try putting yourself in other peoples shoes for example.

Oh god sorry Drouin. Apparently you're reading this. I'm sorry. I really want you to perform. Sorry for the extra pressure and expectations. You can do it! Take as much time as you want. You don't need to be good. Just have fun there buddy!

 

[The Real Timo]

Doesn't change the fact that Galchenyuk's value was not reduced cause he was being treated like Drouin today due to his play on the ice where we played him all over the line-up... including the 4th line.

I repeat, I rather play him with Weal and Armia before I trade him for cheap cause we want him shipped out of town. That's not smart asset management and your frustration gets the best of you.

When was the last time you saw "smart" asset management from Habs?

 

[Habs Halifax]

Oh god sorry Drouin. Apparently you're reading this. I'm sorry. I really want you to perform. Sorry for the extra pressure and expectations. You can do it! Take as much time as you want. You don't need to be good. Just have fun there buddy!

I think my point is going over your head. Look up constructive criticism and read into it. Treating any Habs player like this who is struggling is disgusting. There is nothing to gain with jumping on someone when they are down. Do you think this is good character on your behalf?

Passion to win should not be translated to hate. We are all passionate Habs fans and we all know Drouin's struggles. Makes no sense to jump on someone when they are down cause you are frustrated.

 

[Habs Halifax]

When was the last time you saw "smart" asset management from Habs?

Galchenyuk for Domi. We held on to Galchenyuk until we got the return we wanted. I call that smart asset management

 

[Rosso Scuderia]

I'll wait for the games to matter before judging his play. It can sometimes go hard to be motivated when you know what you do isn't important.

Insert clip of Allen Iverson talking about practice here

Last 26 games of last were important. He scored 1 goal and was pointless in 23 of them.