It didn’t take long for Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman to respond to Jonathan Drouin’s trade demands.
On Sunday evening, Yzerman had this to say about the situation involving his 20-year-old forward:
Statement from #TBLightning GM Steve Yzerman on Drouin situation "We acknowledge, via communication from his agent, Jonathan Drouin’s -->
— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) January 3, 2016
cont' "request to be traded. Moving forward, my sole intention is to act in the best interest of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club.-->
— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) January 3, 2016
Cont " In the meantime, Jonathan has been assigned to our American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch -->
— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) January 3, 2016
Complete "and we expect him to report for practice with the rest of his teammates this Tuesday morning
— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) January 3, 2016
This is the reaction many expected from the Lightning’s front office.
The Lightning have complete control in this situation because Drouin is still only in his entry-level contract, which makes his player rights somewhat limited.
It looks like the Bolts fully expect him to report to AHL Syracuse.
Here’s the statement Drouin’s agent Allan Walsh released today:
A statement from Jonathan Drouin's agent Allan Walsh regarding his client's future in TB: pic.twitter.com/Vhwet1IpTW
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 3, 2016