Quote:
Originally Posted by nik-
You're acting like he traded a bucket of #### for a prosciutto sandwich. He traded a great asset for what could be a great asset. Drouin wanted playtime and couldn't get it and then when he did he promptly made them look stupid for not giving him playtime.
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That is not exactly how I remember things playing out. When Drouin could not get the playing time in TB to which he believed he was entitled after scoring 10 points in 21 games in the 2015-16 season, he sulked like a petulant child, and then refused assignment to the Lightning's AHL affiliate. When Yzerman refused to kowtow to Drouin's demands after several weeks of sitting, he finally reported to the Syracuse Crunch, and was sufficiently underwhelming through his first several games. To his credit, he worked his way back in to a position to get a recall during the playoffs, and eventually became an approximation of the player the Lightning believed they were drafting in 2013.
Did Yzerman "look stupid" for playing hardball with a talented young player who was clearly struggling with various aspects of the NHL game? Or was it Drouin and his agent rather who appeared foolish for believing they were entitled to something that Drouin had not yet—but was evidently capable of earning?
Drouin eventually got his playing time. Yzerman retained the value of an asset, and significantly also demonstrated that he knew what he was doing the whole time.