After Jeff Veillette of the Nations Network noticed that Jonathan Drouin was missing from the Syracuse Crunch lineup, it then came out that Drouin had been suspended by the Lightning for a failure to participate in team activities. The past month for Drouin has been tough as he has seen himself go from playing in the Stanley Cup last year, to seeing time on the Lightning bench to a demotion to the AHL.
How exactly did we get here?
A statement from Drouin’s agent Allan Walsh on the situation only added more mystique to the situation.
Statement from Allan Walsh Re: Jonathon Drouin's suspension pic.twitter.com/xD4B7h3Az1
— Gino Reda (@GinoRedaTSN) January 21, 2016
It looks as if there is some sort of miscommunication between agent and management, but that has been known for sometime. What exactly are they trying to get at? Drouin’s stock is only going to go down without him playing and that doesn’t really effect the player but limits the Lightning who are trying to find him a proper home. The leverage in this scenario is held by the Lightning and they don’t have to give in to a single demand if they don’t want to. As of right now, this is a depreciating asset that needs to come to the realization that no matter the level, he needs to start playing some hockey.
This old Tweet from Drouin is awfully ironic don’t you think?
I guess kovalchuk does what he wants …
— Jonathan Drouin (@jodrouin27) July 11, 2013
No matter the situation in sports, it is always one side against the other and there is no in between. Maybe Drouin is in the wrong but. does he have a right to play in the NHL? That isn’t exciting and doesn’t generate clicks, but it is the most likely scenario. He is too talented to be demoted and if he doesn’t feel like he needs to play there, then bully for him.
This situation has moved fluidly over the course of the past month or so and will only end when the team makes a move. One would expect that this will get done sooner rather than later which would be the best move for both sides.
