Jonathan Drouin Remains Silent On Trade Request

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Jonathan Drouin addressed the media this morning in Syracuse, but remained eerily silent on his recent trade request.

When Tampa Bay Lightning fans heard last night that Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Jonathan Drouin would be addressing the media this morning from Syracuse before the Syracuse Crunch’s optional skate, all kinds of questions came to mind. What would he have to say? Would he divulge the reason behind his trade request?

Unfortunately for fans, none of those questions were answered when Drouin spoke to the media this morning. In fact, Drouin’s meeting with the press in Syracuse was quite the opposite. Jonathan Drouin did not speak on the announcement made yesterday by his agent Allan Walsh regarding his recent trade request and basically refused to answer any questions on his relationship with Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper.

Today, Jonathan Drouin decided to stick to what is ultimately most important right now, the game of hockey. While we certainly commend him on concentrating on the task at hand and seemingly taking his responsibilities as a player very seriously, we have to wonder why he would absolutely refuse to speak on anything in regards to the trade request or his relationship with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

According to Tampa Bay Times Staff Writer Joe Smith, Drouin was pretty steadfast in his assertion not to speak on the situation at hand. In fact, he pretty much through his hands in the air and said the issue has nothing to do with him.

"“I’m not going to answer any questions about the trade request. It’s between my agent and Steve.”"

Unfortunately, we would like to respectfully disagree with him on this one. The moment his trade request was made public by his agent, the issue ceased to be a private matter; especially when he did all he could to besmirch the organization in the politest way possible.

When he was asked about his thoughts on all the backlash he’s received since the announcement was made and whether or not he had any prior knowledge and/or approval of the announcement prior to it being made, he answered much the way he answered the first question on the matter, no comment. As you can imagine, the same answer applied when asked about his relationship with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"“I’m not commenting on the situation. That’s how it is. I’m just here to play hockey,” he said regarding his knowledge of the announcement. “I’m not answering any questions about that,” Drouin said in regards to his relationship with the Lightning. ~ via Syracuse.com"

On the bright side, Drouin’s mood heading into Syracuse seems to have taken a turn for the better. In fact, he seemed fairly happy and ready to play for the Crunch.

"“I’m happy to be here. I’m part of the Syracuse Crunch right now. I’m trying to help them win,” ~ via Syracuse.com"

It almost seems as if he is willing to put in the work needed to work on and refine his game and pay his dues on the way back to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s main roster. In fact, he basically said exactly what we said yesterday in regards to his future with the Tampa Bay Lightning, it rests solely in his hands.

"“I played my game up there. They sent me down. So it’s up to me to work and get back up there. I’m excited to get this started,” Drouin said. “Hard to say. It will be up to me to prove that I can go back up there,” Drouin said in regards to his return to the main roster. ~ via Syracuse.com"

Before we start in on our many questions about this press conference, we here at Bolts By The Bay must commend Jonathan Drouin for acknowledging that there is work to be done and his willingness to put in the time, better himself, and work towards making it back to the Tampa Bay Lightning roster. Drouin is not the first, and certainly will not be the last player who has been sent to the AHL after a prolonged injury.

While there may, in fact, be more to this matter than meets the eye, at least for now we will elect to give Drouin the benefit of the doubt.

At the same time, why would a player choose to hold a press conference the day after such a huge announcement as a trade request that could easily be construed as an issue with his current team and then virtually give the Marshawn Lynch approach and not answer any of the hot button questions posed to him?

There is undoubtedly more to this situation than meets the eye, but for the time being no one, especially Jonathan Drouin, is speaking on the matter. It looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer to get another glimpse behind the veil of what is turning out to be a cyclone of drama barreling through the Bolts Nation.

Of course, the trade deadline is looming in the near future. We would suspect if anything was to materialize about this issue, it would be by then. This gives Drouin plenty of time to stick to his word and put in the effort needed to make his way back to the main roster. As we have said all along, his future is in his hands.

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