Jonathan Drouin Has Had a Complicated Hockey Life

There is a reason Jonathan Drouin's name still catches my attention when it comes up. Recently, I saw some discussion about him being a potential PTO for several teams. How did he not have more of an NHL impact? He was a third overall pick in 2013, and that matters. It isn't even because he's now looking for another NHL opportunity after being bought out by St. Louis.

It's because Drouin's hockey life is a reminder that sometimes we confuse the player we think someone should become with the person who is actually trying to become a player.

Back in 2013, the expectations were enormous. Drouin was described as a dynamic superstar with exceptional hands, elite vision and hockey intelligence. Some scouts even thought he could be better than Nathan MacKinnon. He was supposed to be the kind of player who would take over a franchise. That is a lot to carry around.

The Problem With Being a Can't-Miss Prospect

Drouin's career never followed the straight line everybody imagined. He didn't make the Tampa Bay Lightning immediately. Then he played limited minutes, spent time in the press box and eventually became involved in a very public dispute over his assignment to the AHL.

There were moments when it looked as though things were turning around. He played a terrific playoff series against Pittsburgh, then finally got a top-six opportunity and produced at roughly a 60-point pace.

Then Tampa traded him to Montreal. That's where the story became more complicated. Drouin dealt with depression and insomnia, while his hockey life became increasingly difficult. Montreal tried him at centre, moved him around the lineup, and looked for ways to maximize what he did well.

But perhaps that's part of what makes this story worth remembering. Sometimes a player doesn't need another person trying to figure out what he should become. Sometimes he needs somebody to figure out who he is as a player and then let him be that player.

Colorado seemed to provide some of that. Playing alongside MacKinnon, Drouin had two productive seasons, including 56 points in 79 games in 2023-24. His next season was interrupted by injury, but he still produced 37 points in 43 games. And then the hockey world moved on again.

Maybe Drouin Wasn't a Failure After All

Drouin's 2025-26 season became another strange chapter. He had 21 points in 55 games with the Islanders before being traded to St. Louis, where he had three points in nine games. The Blues bought out the final year of his contract in June.

Now he is 31 and looking for another chance. Would Montreal make sense? Maybe. But I wouldn't make this story about whether the Canadiens should give him a PTO. That's almost too easy.

The more interesting question is what we should make of a player who was once expected to be a superstar and is now simply hoping somebody will give him another opportunity to play. Drouin has had a complicated hockey life. Maybe that's not a story about failure at all. Maybe it's a story about how difficult it can be to become yourself when everybody else has already decided who you're supposed to be.