A non-game night buzz is around that arose earlier Thursday evening. Rienaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported that a trade of former 1st round draft pick-turned-disgruntled-prospect Jonathan Drouin is could come within the next 24 hours. That link is to the official report, which is in French. Here’s a link to Sportsnet’s coverage of the news. It’s basically a lot of recap.
The St. Louis Blues are made out to be pushing hard and persistently, but there is not chatter of who could be headed Tampa Bay’s way in return. A suggested veteran exchange that springs to mind is right-handed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, but he is not supposed to be connected to a deal for Drouin. Shattenkirk’s contract expiring on July 1 also seems to play down the idea he’s central in a deal – a top prospect for a rental-player does not seem to fit the notion of equal value; a short-term addition with no guarantee of retention for a sought-after property that a team will control the rights to for several years.
[ EDIT: Shattenkirk has a full yea rleft on his contract and is not a rental That does add weight to him being involved in a trade for Drouin. ]
Another name dangled as a potential chip in a deal between TB and St. Louis is center Robby Fabbri, who was drafted in the 1st round of the 2014 NHL draft; it’s his first pro season this year and he has 15 points in 40 games played (10 goals, 5 assists).
St. Louis is not the only potential player in a deal – the Western Conference is a favored landing spot (as said in others reports the past few days) unless something from an Eastern Conference rival really blows the roof off.
