Perspective. In my profession, it is one of the most valuable things someone can have. Old Lady Jenkins complaining that someone took her spot in the pew again? Well, remember, that’s where she sat with her husband for some 50 years. Her husband who died last year. Perspective.

I keep this idea in mind as I approach my hockey fandom. We must always remember that these young men who wear our jersey, represent our town, become our passion – that they, too, are people. Sure, they are handsomely compensated for their gladiatorial role within the community, but they are still people - people with joys and sorrows, personalities and quirks.

I say this because sometimes the personalities just don’t fit. Building a team, with these unique personalities, is an art. Balancing egos and ambitions, leaders and followers, it can be a messy business. And there can be no greater mess in recent Lightning memory, than that of Jonathan Drouin (though the tumultuous exit of Monsieur St. Louis certainly gives him a run for his money).

When I started to hear rumblings that Steve Yzerman may be open to moving Drouin this summer, I was disappointed. Not because I don’t trust Mr. Yzerman to do the right thing, nor because it was a shock, but because it meant that it just didn’t work.

Despite the smiles and the handshakes and the proper quotes in the media, Drouin still didn’t fit. We should’ve seen the writing on the wall…or rather, not on the wall, as his visage was conspicuously absent from any banners at Amalie Arena. That this stellar young player was never used in marketing should have been our clue. Something was up.

Jonathan walked away from the team once already, and despite playing nice, it would be my assumption that he would have no problem doing it again. As a restricted free agent, it was his right to hold out until December 1 before he was forced to step foot on the ice. Is it irresponsible to assume that he would do that? I feel it would be foolish to assume otherwise.

And so, Steve Yzerman was left with a choice. Pay the kid whatever he wanted (and likely infuriate your rising superstar named Nikita Kucherov) or endure yet another distraction from an enigmatic 22 year old. Or, as an alternative to those terrible options, cut your losses, swallow your pride, and move on from the 3rd pick in the 2013 draft. That is the route Yzerman took.

Perspective. It is tough to have in the midst of things. And I tell you, the moment I saw the Tweet come through that Drouin was gone, perspective was not something I had yet. "But… he is so good! And he was going to be Stammer’s wingman! And… no!"

But eventually, I took a step back, and saw it for what it was. The team had to grudgingly move on from a personality that may have never found success in Tampa Bay. Perhaps the wounds were too deep, and the relationship had been too soured. As difficult as that is for Lightning fans to swallow, who among us didn’t have some tension in our first foray in an office?

Lest we forget, Jonathan is but a 22 year old young man. In most other professions, he would be graduating from college and starting at an entry-level position.Keep in mind, according to a 2016 Deloitte survey, 64% of Millennials expect to leave their current job within 5 years. Just because he is a hockey player doesn’t mean he is exempt from the tendencies that are typical among his generation.

And all of this, with no mention of Yzerman’s acquisition: a promising young defenseman that I personally yearned for the Lightning to find a way to obtain in the draft last year. In the end, I am quite excited about this move, though it is bittersweet. Is it painful to lose an athlete of Jonathan Drouin’s ilk? Without a doubt. But in the end, it was a choice that needed to be made.

And of course, I wish Jonathan well in Montreal – though not THAT well.

It is Montreal, after all. And no amount of perspective can change that.