The Montreal Canadiens hit the ice on Friday for practice over 12 hours after losing 9-5 to the Florida Panthers. But one notable player,
Jonathan Drouin, was missing and it was a bit puzzling as to why he wasn't on the ice.
Following the skate, Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters that
Jonathan Drouin missed a team meeting and was not allowed to practice on Friday, adding that it's a 'non-negotiable'. St. Louis also mentioned that it's unclear if the 27-year-old will play on Saturday against Tampa Bay.
The Sainte-Agathe (Quebec) native has had a rough time finding his stride as a Montreal Canadien since being dealt to them from Tampa Bay in 2017 due to several reasons, including injuries. Drouin is likely entering his final games as a Hab as he's set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. The likelihood of the Canadiens re-signing Drouin seem pretty low as they'll want to use that roster spot on a younger player who's shown that they're NHL-ready, such as
Sean Farrell,
Owen Beck or possibly even
Filip Mesar.
In 46 games this season, Drouin has 26 points (one goal, 25 assists), 14 penalty minutes and is a minus-14.
