Tampa Bay Lightning won't make hasty decision on trading Jonathan Drouin

Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman won’t allow himself to be pressured into moving quickly on the Jonathan Drouin situation because history provides ample evidence to suggest that he should move carefully here.

Drouin, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2013, asked to be traded in November, and that request was revealed by his agent Allan Walsh this weekend after Drouin was sent to the minors.

Two years ago, the Boston Bruins traded a No. 2 pick Tyler Seguin after 203 NHL games and Seguin has since matured into one of the NHL’s top stars.

Kyle Turris, another No. 3 pick, had played 137 games with the then-Phoenix Coyotes before he was traded to the Ottawa Senators four years ago and he blossomed into an effective offensive catalyst.

In both instances, the teams that dealt the younger players didn’t receive good value based on the stars the traded players became. Drouin has only played 89 NHL games, and it is difficult to guess where his game will be at two seasons from now.

Yzerman will expect a quality return for Droun, and isn’t going to drop his price simply because his demand for a trade is public.

Drouin has no leverage. Although he presumably believes he deserves to play in the show and not the AHL, it is not in his best interest to refuse to play in the minor leagues. He’s 20, and he needs to play. He’s on the second season of an entry level deal. Yzerman is under no obligation to make a hasty move.

For the next 24 hours, we will play the blame game. These issues are always about the coach-player relationship. Clearly, Lightning coach Jon Cooper probably doesn’t believe Drouin is as NHL-ready as Drouin believes he is. Drouin has been overrun by injuries. He only played five games in December, and sending him to the AHL to get playing time seemed like standard operating procedure.

But the tension between Drouin and the Lightning dates to 2013-14 when the Lightning sent him back to his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when he believed he was ready to play. Unquestionably, Drouin probably didn’t agree with Cooper’s decision to play him only six games in the postseason last spring.

We aren’t exactly breaking new ground here with coach and player not agreeing on playing time or lack of playing time.

Circumstance also has played a role in this breakdown. Last season, Drouin was trying to earn playing time on a team that was good enough to reach the Stanley Cup Final. It’s entirely possible that his situation would be different had he joined a struggling team that could afford to be more tolerant of the growing pains of younger players.

The good news for both the Lightning and Drouin is that there is still considerable intrigue about Drouin’s potential. He is an elite skater, and he did post 32 points as a rookie.

It would seem like there will be enough bidders that it won’t be a buyer’s market. Yzerman should get a reasonable return.  Perhaps this could turn out to be a benefit for the Lightning because they could use a boost now. The Lightning haven’t played the high caliber of hockey they played last spring in the postseason. The Lightning could use Drouin to swing a deal to add a player who can help them right away.

In Yzerman’s time in Tampa Bay, he has proven that he is both aggressive and calculating when it comes to managing his team. He is not going to move quickly on this unless a team overwhelms him with an offer.  He is also the kind of guy who knows how to turn a problem into an opportunity. He did that with the Martin St. Louis situation when he ended up with Ryan Callahan. He may do that here with Drouin.