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Saturday Habs Headlines: Reactions to the Drouin deal – from both sides

Posted on by Brad Simpson

Montreal Canadiens News and Notes

Reactions to the Jonathan Drouin acquisition are plentiful and passionate, here’s what Montreal analysts and reporters have to say, one day later.

  • Drouin joined the Morning Show to share his excitement. [TSN 690]
  • There’s simply no way that Marc Bergevin was going to let his opportunity at Jonathan Drouin get away from him. [La Presse]
  • Drouin has shown flashes of being one of the top offensive talents in the NHL. [RDS]
  • Current Canadiens’ players are already showing excitement for their new teammate. [Andrew Shaw/Phillip Danault]
  • Arpon Basu joined TSN radio in Ottawa to share his take on the trade. [TSN 1200]
  • Pierre LeBrun qualifies this deal as one of the NHL’s elusive win-win trades. [TSN]
  • Greg Wyshynski, however, thinks this was a steal by Marc Bergevin. [Puck Daddy]
  • A lot of people feel that the Drouin deal was the first domino to fall and that fans should expect more wheeling and dealing. [TVA Sports]
  • Pierre McGuire agrees and says Montreal is not done with their transactions. [TSN 690]
  • It’s entirely possible that one of the next trades made by Bergevin could ship former third overall pick Alex Galchenyuk out of town. [RDS]
  • Even if Galchenyuk stays, Drouin’s acquisition and fresh new contract take away some of the American’s leverage. [FRS]
  • Bob McKenzie weighs in on whether the Drouin trade changes anything for Carey Price and his contract extension talks. [TSN 690]
  • The Atlantic division was just shaken up by the trade between rival Canadiens and Lightning. Can Jonathan Drouin make the Habs a contender? [The Athletic]
  • Luke Fox at Sportsnet shares a few thoughts on the trade. [Sportsnet]
  • Eric Engels updated his expansion draft preview, taking Drouin into consideration. [Sportsnet]
  • Regardless of your stance on the language debate and whether it has a place in hockey, it’s absolutely a win for the Canadiens to have acquired such high-end hometown talent. [Sportsnet]
  • With Mikhail Sergachev out of the picture, the Habs’ prospect pool has taken a hit. There’s still lots to work with, however. [TSN: Part Two – Part Three]/

From the other side of the trade, what Tampa Bay pundits are saying.

  • Many in Montreal are elated to have Drouin, but Lightning staff and fans are pumped about Sergachev. [La Presse]
  • Tampa Bay’s hand may have been forced to deal Drouin, what with expansion draft and salary cap issues. [NHL]
  • In his last season wearing a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey, Jonathan Drouin scored 21 goals. See them all again, right here. [Drive for 25]
  • Steve Yzerman is hopeful that Mikhail Sergachev will play with the Lightning, and not the Crunch, next year. [Raw Charge]
  • Sarge is definitely eager to get going for the Lightning franchise. [NHL]/

More Habs links, unrelated to the Drouin-Sergachev trade.

  • The projected cap space left for Montreal may be shrinking, but there’s still room to squeeze in a contract for Alexander Radulov. [La Presse]
  • The good news is, talks are ongoing between Radulov and the team. What may be less good news, is that the two parties are having to negotiate price as well as term. [Aivis Kalnins]
  • The Canadiens’ General Manager believes Noah Juulsen to have top four potential. [Douglas Gelevan]
  • While mentioned above, it cannot be understated that there seems to be a ton of interest in Alex Galchenyuk around the league. [Chris Nichols]/

  • Would it make sense to flip Chucky for a name often-rumoured to be Montreal-bound last season? [Edmonton Journal]
  • Derek Stepan could make sense for Montreal, if the price is right. [EOTP]
  • Dion Phaneuf has submitted a list of a dozen teams he’d agree to be dealt to, and that list includes the division rival Montreal Canadiens. [RDS]
  • What’s better than being a dad? Being a dad twice. This, according to two-time dad and full-time Habs blueliner Jeff Petry. [Canadiens]/

Around the League and Elsewhere

  • The Nashville Predators are oddly exposed heading towards the expansion draft, and have been unable (so far) to strike a deal with the Las Vegas Golden Knights to protect both James Neal and Calle Jarnkrok. [TSN]
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins, back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, are still trying to get better. [Penguins]/

  • The New York Rangers may be willing to part ways with Derek Stepan, but the asking price has been set rather high. [TSN]
  • Our friends over at Stanley Cup of Chowder have taken to some wishful re-designs of NHL jerseys, what with Adidas taking over, we could actually hope some of these could happen. [SCoC]
  • A video put out by the NHL left a juicy little nugget of hope for anyone hoping to eventually see an NHL team return to Quebec City. [Journal de Montréal]
  • The Laval Rocket aren’t the only new AHL team as a result of relocation, Belleville will welcome the Ottawa Senators’ farm team next year. [Sportsnet]
  • While the details are still elusive, it seems definitive that the CWHL will begin financially compensating its players as of the 2017-18 season. [EOTP]
  • Harnarayan Singh is the best play-by-play man you likely never heard – he calls Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi. Singh opens up about his life in Canada, and the universal language of hockey. [Sportsnet]/

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