Drouin declines to comment on trade request, relationship with Lightning

Jonathan Drouin met reporters in Syracuse Crunch garb Tuesday morning, and predictably declined to comment on his recent trade request made to his parent club, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Like I said, I'm not commenting on the situation. That's how it is. I'm just here to play hockey," he said.

When pressed about his relationship with the organization, Drouin paused before reiterating: "I'm not answering any questions about that."

Drouin's agent Allan Walsh confirmed that his camp had requested a trade in November shortly after Drouin's demotion to the AHL's Crunch. He was a regular in the Lightning's lineup until the midway portion of November, when two injuries and inconsistent performance limited him to just nine appearances over the last 10 weeks.

The 20-year-old former third overall pick has six goals and 40 points in 89 career games across parts of two seasons.