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It was a clean weekend sweep for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In their fourth victory in a row, the Bolts were powered by Vlad Namestnikov’s first NHL hat trick, the third goal coming via overtime, a 5-4 final over the Pittsburgh Penguin. Then came a Sunday dance with the Atlantic-best Florida Panthers in which Andrej Sustr’s late second period tally would hold as the game-winner in a 3-1 final led by a stellar night from Ben Bishop, who stopped all but one of the 27 shots the Panthers threw his way in his first start since last Tuesday.
With the victories, the Lightning find themselves one point ahead of the Boston Bruins for third in the Atlantic, and just five points away from the first place ‘Cats with 37 games to go for each team (well, just 36 for Florida after their Monday night loss to Edmonton).
But just when you think the focus can be on the team pulling themselves back into serious contention in the Eastern Conference, this word from CTV shifts the focus back towards Jonathan Drouin.
BREAKING NEWS
Strong source confirms Habs making a huge push today putting a more significant package on table to acquire Drouin.
— BrianWilde (@BWildeCTV) January 18, 2016
There’s always been this sort of natural connection between Drouin and the Montreal Canadiens, it seems. Maybe that’s to be expected with Quebec being Drouin’s home province (hey, remember those Vinny Lecavalier to Montreal rumors that lasted about a decade?) or his additional connection to Quebec from his days in the QMJHL (though Drouin played his junior hockey with the Halifax Mooseheads).
If the Habs are indeed preparing a ‘huge push’ for Drouin’s services, and upping the ante in terms of what’s heading Tampa Bay’s way, you have to wonder just what exactly that entails for the Bolts.
Is forward Alex Galchenyuk too much of a ‘pie in the sky’ fantasy for general manager Steve Yzerman? Galchenyuk, drafted third overall by Montreal in 2012, has 10 goals and 27 points in 46 games for the Habs this year, and 52 goals and 131 points in 239 career NHL games. Although you could argue that he’s yet to reach the potential the Canadiens saw in him when they nabbed him at No. 3 overall, he’s still accomplished more than fellow No. 3 overall pick, Drouin.
And what a get Galchenyuk would be for Tampa. He's a shift, quick-thinking forward that comes with a lot of the same qualities that Drouin has, and would give some serious insurance to Yzerman if he's unable to retain a Triplet or if Steven Stamkos walks as a free agent this summer. (Galchenyuk alone is not replacing Stamkos -- nobody is, for that matter -- but building forward depth around a youthful core that would then feature Galchenyuk is nothing to scoff at.)
Or maybe the Bolts would key in on somebody like Nathan Beaulieu, a 6-foot-2 defender that’s suited up in 45 games (two goals, 13 points) for Montreal this year. Beaulieu, a 2011 first-round pick, would bring another young defender with size to the Tampa point (though he’s a left shot).
Galchenyuk or Beaulieu (mainly Galchenyuk, I’d argue) would seem like a steep price for a player that’s recorded just six goals and 40 points in 89 games in the NHL -- and struggled with just two goals and one assist in seven AHL games this year -- but such is the price for dealing a player of Drouin’s caliber within the division for the Bolts. It’s clear that the Lightning are not keen on dealing the disgruntled winger within the Atlantic -- though we know that the Habs, Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa Senators have all expressed serious interest in making a push to tempt Yzerman and company into doing just that -- so it would take a seriously strong package, as alluded to by CTV’s Brian Wilde, to make it happen.
And I suppose it’s worth noting that if any deal does indeed happen between the Bolts and Canadiens regarding Drouin, who has wanted out of the Tampa organization for months now, it’s that the Lightning will in return acquire a player that Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin is equally sour about sending to a divisional foe, especially one they’ve met in the last two postseasons.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.