Drouin feeling optimistic he can turn things around
Return to centre and familiar linemates provide playmaker with sense of stability
After missing the playoffs by a country mile last season, it’s obvious the Canadiens must be better in 2018-19. And the burden of improvement will fall heavily on some players more than others. This is the third in a series of five stories on players who could hold the key to a turnaround.
Jonathan Drouin’s first year with the Canadiens fell short of expectations, but the 23-year-old believes he’s in a position to turn things around this season. And that position is centre.
There were times last season when there were serious doubts about whether Drouin was capable of filling the perennial hole in the middle of the Canadiens’ depth charts.
For starters, there were problems with chemistry. Drouin and captain Max Pacioretty spent most of the summer of 2017 working out together and getting to know each other. The assumption was that Drouin’s playmaking skills would complement Pacioretty ’s ability to find the back of the net.
It didn’t work out that way. There was little chemistry on the ice and the two went their separate ways.
And then there were times when Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin — who identified Drouin as the answer to the void at centre — and coach Claude Julien felt Drouin might be better on the wing.
Drouin might wind up back on the wing at some point down the road when first-round draft picks Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling are ready to play in the NHL, but the good news for Drouin and the Canadiens is that he’s starting the season at centre and the plan is to keep him there.
“Last year, I came in and I had no feel for what was going on,” Drouin said prior to teeing off at Pacioretty’s annual charity golf tournament on Tuesday.
“As the year went on, I felt more comfortable knowing what do in some areas, at some points in the game. At the end of the year, things were starting to work out and I want to continue like that.”
Part of Drouin’s difficulties stemmed from a change in environment. While he scored 21 goals for the Tampa Bay Lightning the previous season, he was part of the supporting cast on a high-powered offensive team. When he arrived in Montreal, he was given a six-year contract with an annual cap hit of $5.5 million and the expectation was that he would be a star.
And then there was the fact that everything went wrong around him. Goaltender Carey Price had the worst season of his career. Pacioretty went through two prolonged slumps and finished the season on the injured-reserve list with a knee injury. Defenceman Shea Weber was injured in the first game of the season and finally shut it down in December.
There were two bright spots among the forwards and that’s the biggest reason why Drouin feels optimistic about the coming season. Brendan Gallagher’s work ethic paid dividends as he scored a career-high 31 goals. And Paul Byron hit the 20-goal mark for a second consecutive season. They were Drouin’s linemates down the stretch and Drouin collected 13 of his 46 points during the final 14 games of the season.
“Last year was a tough year for everyone, but hopefully this year is different,” said Drouin.