[Dion]

Ducks Should Forget About Jonathan Drouin

Not even Ducks’ General Manager can ignore the fact that having a player on an entry-level deal request a trade is quite peculiar. Not only is it strange, it is very concerning. Here is a guy who has only been a member of the National Hockey League for one-and-a-half seasons, who has proven very little to this point, demonstrating his unhappiness with the team that drafted him so high by demanding he be traded. Think of all the players that do their time in the AHL before they even get the opportunity to show off their skills to the big boys. They do whatever it takes to make it, keeping their mouths shut and letting their talent do the talking.

Drouin’s behavior screams “bad for locker room”. No team wants the extra attention of an unhappy prospect who is blaming his poor performance on the organization he plays for. Anaheim is trying to make it into to postseason and do not need Drouin’s immature attitude as an added distraction.

Drouin’s sample size to this point is still quite small. Even third overall draft picks need a little time to show what they are really made of. However, the feeling of uncertainty is there and nobody truly knows what kind of player Drouin is going to turn into. It has been well documented that Tampa Bay is not going to deal away their player for peanuts just because he demands to be sent elsewhere. Whoever ends up acquiring the forward is going to have to pay a decent price.

If I am Murray, I do not risk dealing away a valuable player and prospects who may turn into such for someone whose only selling point is his potential. The Ducks need players who can produce offense this season and Drouin has not demonstrated this ability at all. Trading away someone like Sami Vatanen along with a future piece such a Shea Theodore for a player like Drouin would be disastrous if it did not pan out. Anaheim may end up dealing away one or both of these players but it needs to be for someone Murray is sure he can get a decent return out of.

http://thehockeywriters.com/ducks-sh...nathan-drouin/