The Montreal Canadiens signed Jonathan Drouin to a six-year, $33-million contract extension several hours after acquiring the forward from the Tampa Bay Lightning in a deal that sent prospect Mikhail Sergachev the other way.
Drouin’s deal comes with a cap hit of $5.5 million per season. The 22-year-old had 53 points in 73 games with the Lightning this past season. The third-overall pick from 2013 was a pending restricted free agent.
It would have been difficult for Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman to sign Drouin to an extension like this without running into salary cap problems.
The addition of Drouin has many thinking Alex Galchenyuk’s days in Montreal are numbered. The Canadiens need to improve their defence both in the short and long term and Galchenyuk could be a valuable trade chip should Marc Bergevin decide to pull the trigger on another significant trade. Galchenyuk is a pending RFA in need of a new contract, one that would presumably be in the same ballpark as the one Drouin just signed.
June 15, 2017
Montreal Canadiens
