Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin is aware that next season could be his last in Montreal.
“It’s the reality of things,” admitted the 27-year-old hockey player on Tuesday before his fifth annual golf tournament for the benefit of the Fondation du CHUM, held at Le Mirage golf club in Terrebonne. “It’s something that I don’t control. The only thing I can control is to have a good year for myself and for the team. But yes, there is a good chance that this will be my last year. »
The Sainte-Agathe skater will play in 2022-2023 the last season of the six-year, US$33 million contract granted to him by Marc Bergevin.
Worried by injuries that have prevented him from completing two of the last three seasons – during which he has been limited to 27, 44 and 34 games only – Drouin knows he will have to stay healthy if he wishes to receive an offer. of the club’s new management.
In 2020-21, it was sleep disturbances and anxiety that forced him to miss the team’s last 12 games and its playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
“It was flat last year, with my situation. I should have had surgery in January, I could have played a month with the new management and the new coach, he explained. I saw the change that took place when Martin [St-Louis] arrived. With Kent Hughes and Mr. Gorton, it’s going in the right direction, and I can’t wait to get into it. »
“There’s no added stress, it’s about staying healthy for me. I had a very good start to the season last year. I had surgery on both wrists, so I shouldn’t have any problems with my wrists this year. My goal is to be healthy and to be consistent. »
“It will be up to me to prove to the organization and the new management, through my game, that I want to stay here. I don’t have anyone to convince, it’s about playing my game. If they want me, they’ll offer me a contract. »
Especially since Drouin would like to continue his association with the Habs.
“Yes, I want to continue, especially with the new management, the new coach and the young players we have. I’m not an expert, but I follow hockey and I think we had an excellent draft. The Canadian is going in a very good direction. »
And for his part, he has tamed the Montreal market.
“My first two years were all about feeling, to know how it was going to happen. I’ve watched the Canadiens all my life, but I don’t think I was really ready for that. You don’t know it until you’ve experienced it. My first season, we didn’t have a good season, so I learned the hard way. But in my last two, three years, I was much more comfortable with the Montreal market, with the way it is in town with hockey and without hockey. »
Drafted third overall in 2013 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Drouin moved to the Habs on June 15, 2017 along with a conditional sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, for young defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional pick second round in repechage.
Since joining CH, Drouin has played 263 games over five seasons, during which he scored 46 goals and added 11 assists. In 427 games with the Lightning and the Canadiens, Drouin tallied 252 points, including 75 goals.
Dedicated to Guy Lafleur
Drouin insisted that this fifth edition of his charity tournament was dedicated to the memory of Guy Lafleur, who died last spring.
Lafleur was an early ambassador for the Fondation du CHUM and had even participated twice in the Drouin tournament, who considers him a mentor.
” [Je retiens] his calm, the way he took time with all the people who came to talk to him. He wasn’t just talking to them, he was showing them a good time. […] During the tournaments where he was present, it was good to see people get up, interrupt their meal to go see Guy. He was someone very special. »
The best advice that the noh 10 gave him? “To have fun, to play hockey and have fun. He makes sure to apply it.
Moreover, the Guy Lafleur Fund will continue, since Martin Lafleur has agreed to take over from his father with the Fondation du CHUM.
“It’s quite an honor for me to continue what my father started,” said Martin Lafleur. He lived through the disease, fought from beginning to end, and he held this cause in his heart. For my family and me, to be here and to continue his work is very important. »
” [La Fondation du CHUM] was there from start to finish. It is not only about the care given to my father, but also as psychological support for my mother, my brother and me. […] Without [elle], that would have been very difficult. We felt supported from start to finish. I wanted to continue this. »