(Brossard) No one will blame Jonathan Drouin if he swore a little when he saw the composition of the lines of the Montreal Canadiens on Monday morning.
Posted at 3:33 p.m.
Drouin found himself among the extra forwards after the Habs made the last intrenchments of the camp, just like Michael Pezzetta.
The 27-year-old Quebec forward participated in some rotational exercises with Mike Hoffman to the right of Sean Monahan and Kirby Dach.
This is a delicate position for the one who remains the fourth highest paid forward in the Canadiens, tied with Josh Anderson. Drouin is in the final year of a six-year contract earning him an average annual salary of US$5.5 million.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Jonathan Drouin
” He [Drouin] missed time during camp. He is a little behind physically. He is coming back from an injury, we have a surplus of attackers. It’s something I have to deal with,” said head coach Martin St-Louis.
Drouin had wrist surgery last spring. He was limited to just 34 games last campaign, including only two in the last three months of the season. He then got sick and stayed away for a few days during the camp.
“My synchronization is not there on the ice, it’s still going a little fast, recognized Drouin, while recalling that he had not played regularly since January. It will take me some time to get used to it. »
Drouin said he was comfortable with his coach’s decision since communication is good between the two.
“The season is long and a lot can happen,” said Drouin.
It’s a cliché, but all I can do right now is put my head down and work hard on the ice and off the ice.
Jonathan Drouin
For his part, St-Louis insisted that Drouin was still in the team’s plans.
“Every guy in my locker room has value. It’s their responsibility to build their value, St-Louis said. If a player is not in training, my job is to help him increase his value every day. One shot that “Jo”’s value will be in the right place, he’ll be in a position to be successful on the ice.
Yes, he is in my plans. From the moment a player is here, I will train him until he is gone.
Martin St-Louis, head coach, about Jonathan Drouin
Drouin must hope to be able to quickly increase his value, whether to regain the confidence of his coach or to attract the attention of the leaders of another formation.