So they're saying there's a chance.
A day after the Tampa Bay Lightning lifted Jonathan Drouin's suspension and general manager Steve Yzerman indicated he was leaving the door open for the young forward to return to the big club, it appears as though the feeling is mutual.
Drouin spoke after practicing with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday, and said it's possible the two sides can indeed reconcile after Yzerman decided to hold on to him as the trade deadline passed.
Asked Jonathan Drouin if he thinks relationship with Tampa is salvageable pic.twitter.com/BzbEqKnzUS
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 8, 2016
"Obviously, I’m a hockey player, I want to play hockey," he said of his decision to return. "Sitting at home is not what I wanted to do."
Drouin is also well aware he has some work to do in order to get where he wants to be, namely playing regular minutes as an NHL forward.
Drouin says he knows he'll have to perform well to earn trust of teammates
— Syracuse Hockey (@syrhockey) March 8, 2016
Drouin: "I have to put in the work here, and that's what I plan to do.''
— Syracuse Hockey (@syrhockey) March 8, 2016
"Obviously, I wish it maybe went the other way," he added, "but it happened that way, and it's going to be fixed in the summer in the summer and we'll figure it out."
Drouin is expected to be in the Crunch's lineup Friday, with a possible recall looming on the horizon, if all goes well.
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