from Eric Engels of Sportsnet,

It’s pre-season, we know, but Jonathan Drouin has been under the microscope since the Montreal Canadiens opened training camp two weeks ago and what he’s shown since then has been anything but convincing.

Guys like him—NHL players with over 300 games of experience—are usually given a pass at this stage of the game. But the 24-year-old closed out the 2018-19 season with just six points over his last 26 games and four of them came in an 8-1 laugher against the hapless Detroit Red Wings. It was imperative for him to start off 2019-20 on the right foot, for him to change up the optics and gain some confidence before the real games begin.

If the performance Drouin offered in Montreal’s 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their penultimate game of the pre-season is a sign of what’s to come, you have to question if there’s a role for him on the Canadiens this season.

They’re clearly concerned, too. Would Drouin have been dressed for a fourth time in six games if they weren’t? No other locked-into-a-spot veteran on the team has played as much.

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