3 Trades To Make Montreal Canadiens And New Jersey Devils Better

Jonathan Drouin is a player that’s really hard to peg. He took a leave of absence back in April and never came back despite the Canadiens making a run to the Cup Final. Who knows if the Canadiens asked him to stay home to keep the chemistry or if this was Drouin’s choice. Either way, his value is nowhere near where it was the year before.

Drouin had a weird season on the ice. He only scored two goals in 44 games, but he still averaged half a point per game because he had 21 assists. That would have had him tied for second on the Devils in assists this season. It’s clear he is extremely skilled, and he is a former top-three pick that’s still just 26 years old. There is a lot left in the tank for Drouin, and the Devils could unlock him by just letting him play his game and build confidence.

The Canadiens aren’t getting great value for Drouin. Their best bet is to get an NHL talent in Nick Merkley, someone with high upside in Marian Studenic, another AHL prospect in AJ Greer, then a 2nd-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft. The Canadiens already have a lot of middle-round picks, but getting another lottery ticket is the key to finding the next Brayden Point or Nikita Kucherov.

This deal might not make the Canadiens on paper, but turning a missing Drouin into an interesting NHL player in Nick Merkley plus a few other pieces is the best they can do at this point. No, the Blues are not going to trade Vladimir Tarasenko for a star that was sent home or stayed home for the team’s most important postseason in 25 years.