Back at the beginning of January, Jonathan Drouin requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Since then, he’s been suspended by his club and he’s been connected to a variety of teams in the ol’ rumor mill. One of the teams believed to be the closest to making an actual offer for the for 20-year-old forward was the St. Louis Blues.
Apparently, the Blues are no longer interested in making a deal.
On me dit que Jonathan Drouin n'est plus dans les plans des Blues de St. Louis // I'm told St. Louis Blues are out for Drouin deal #NHL #LNH
— François Parenteau (@fparenteau) February 10, 2016
Why are the Blues dropping out of the hunt after being linked to Drouin for about a month? The big piece that was previously reported to be going Tampa Bay’s way – Kevin Shattenkirk – has been called on to play a more prominent role now that the Blues are enduring at least three weeks without top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo’s injury has tweaked the team’s plans, which should make Blues fans who never wanted to see Shattenkirk dealt pretty happy.
The price for Drouin is reportedly extremely steep. For the Blues, the rumored inclusion of Shattenkirk should indicate how much the Lighting want for the forward. It was always difficult to envision the Blues parting with such a steep price for Drouin, and now it’s likely that injuries eliminated any possibility a trade would be made.
That being said, that price may drop some as the trade deadline approaches. The league knows that the Lightning are in a bind and need to move the forward which should diminish the return. A trade will happen, but now you can scratch one team off the possible list of destinations for Drouin.
