Columbus Blue Jackets: Staring Down the Barrel – Bolts by the Bay

What was your reaction to the Drouin trade?

CK: Personally, I wasn’t all that devastated or shocked when I heard that Jonathan Drouin had been traded. His hockey skills are undeniable and he’s going to be a good player, but his heart was never in Tampa. Ever since his self-imposed lockout in 2016, things have been tense between the coaching staff and Drouin.

While he may have rescinded his trade request, things were never going to be the same, and that goes for fan relations too. A good number of Bolts fans (myself included) saw this as a betrayal of their trust and to an even further extent, disrespectful to both the Lightning and their AHL affiliate. My personal view on the situation is that there are players who would kill to be in his position and it was a show of pride on the part of Drouin, which isn’t good for team atmosphere. It was also unjustified as he had yet to prove himself in the league at the time and had just returned to play from an injury.

Personal opinions aside, we got very skilled young defensemen out of the trade. The Bolts are already pretty deep at the forward position, but our defense was lacking before the start of the season. Sergachev has impressed so far this season and is even getting a good chunk of time on the power play. If he’s showing this much promise now, I can’t wait to see what his play is like in five years. Plus, even with the subtraction of Drouin, there hasn’t been a lack of scoring so far for the Bolts this season, so I don’t think the team is any worse for the wear.