Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

An intriguing situation has developed in Tampa Bay, one that should interest the Detroit Red Wings.

Jonathan Drouin, a top-three draft pick, wants out, and it's worth it for the Wings to see whether they could land him.

The issue has come to light as Drouin's agent, Allan Walsh, issued a statement to several media outlets revealing that a trade had been requested in November, spurred by an apparently unhappy situation with the Lightning organization. Walsh noted: "We have not said one word about this untenable situation publicly. ... It's in everyone's best interests that Jonathan be allowed to move on and play hockey."

Drouin wants to play in the NHL, not in the AHL, where Tampa Bay sent him. He has appeared in just 19 games with the Lightning this season, producing two goals and six assists.

Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings great, replied with a statement saying that he'd act in the best interest of the Lightning. He has been in this situation before, too, when Martin St. Louis demanded out (and he had a no-movement clause in his contract that enabled him to control where he went).

St. Louis was an established, high-scoring winger with a tremendous resume. Drouin's career is nascent, with just six goals in 89 NHL games. He has dealt with injuries this season.

But what Drouin also is is 20 years old, the No. 3 overall selection in 2013 (the same draft that netted the Wings Anthony Mantha in the first round), highly skilled and signed through 2016-17 for a cap hit of less than $900,000, after which he is a restricted free agent.

That's what makes him so intriguing. Imagine Drouin and Dylan Larkin leading the Wings deep into the future, with a supporting cast of Evgeny Svechnikov and Mantha, among others.

It is the potential of Drouin's future that also is going to drive the cost, all the more so because Tampa Bay and Detroit both operate in the Atlantic Division. Intradivision trades are tough; when the Columbus Blue Jackets were shopping Rick Nash in 2012-13, the asking price for the Wings started with forwards Valtteri Filppula and Justin Abdelkader and included a first-round draft pick.

That said, it'd still be worth the Wings' time to inquire. The Lightning are limited by having just $2 million in cap space. Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times said on Twitter that the Lightning might be looking at defensemen, especially right-handed ones. The Wings could tempt Tampa Bay with righty-shooting Alexey Marchenko and Ryan Sproul. Add forward Tomas Jurco to the package -- he has underachieved for the past season and a half, this season under a coach who knows him better than anyone. Maybe like Drouin, he'd be better off in a new place. Marchenko has a cap hit of less than $700,000, and Jurco is at $900,000. Sproul is in the minors. Financially, this would work for the Lightning.

It'd be a hit to the young defensemen in the Wings' system, but don't forget about Xavier Ouellet, who likely will be on next year's team, and Nick Jensen. Vili Saarijarvi, a third-round pick from this summer, just helped Finland to win gold at the World Junior Championship, with four assists in seven games.

Six teams that should trade for Lightning's Jonathan Drouin

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.