The Tampa Bay Lightning cannot catch a break.
A season full of adversity was dealt its biggest blow Saturday, when general manager Steve Yzerman announced that captain Steven Stamkos will have surgery Monday for a blood clot in his arm and miss one-to-three months. The timing, of course, is brutal, as the playoffs are set to begin on April 13.
But Stamkos' injury may mean the return of exiled forward Jonathan Drouin, who is playing in the AHL after asking for a trade earlier this season.
Calling up Drouin is "certainly something we have to consider," Yzerman said Saturday night, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith.
Drouin scored his 11th goal of the season for the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, and is playing his best hockey right now. He has goals in five straight games, and six over that span. He'll turn 22 on March 28, and has 11 goals and two assists in 17 games in the AHL.
The disgruntled forward, drafted third overall in 2013 by Tampa Bay, has two goals and six assists in 19 games with the Lightning this season. He suited up in six playoff games on Tampa Bay's run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, going pointless.
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